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Bethesda reassures fans The Elder Scrolls 6 is “on the way” following the Xbox cuts, and that it’s “loving how it looks” and “playing it every day”
Bethesda Game Studios has issued a statement seeking to reassure fans that The Elder Scrolls 6 remains on track, following reports of significant layoffs across Xbox and concerns that key staff on the project had been let go. The reassurance comes after last week's Xbox restructuring, which reportedly hit morale at Bethesda and its sister studio ZeniMax Online Studios hard, even though Microsoft has framed the cuts as a refocusing on its strongest franchises, including The Elder Scrolls.
In a published note, the studio said the game "is our primary development focus today", with most of the team working on it, and that ZeniMax Online Studios will now partner more closely with Bethesda Game Studios on the franchise alongside its ongoing work on The Elder Scrolls Online. The game will run on Creation Engine 3, the same engine confirmed for the newly announced Fallout 5. Speaking to Bloomberg, studio head Todd Howard acknowledged the need to communicate more with fans while still protecting the surprise of reveals, noting the announcement coincides with Bethesda's 40th anniversary and a period of change at the company. The Elder Scrolls 6 was first announced eight years ago, well before Starfield's release.
In short
- Bethesda insists The Elder Scrolls 6 is on track despite Xbox layoffs
- ZeniMax Online Studios to partner closely with Bethesda on the franchise
- Game uses Creation Engine 3, also confirmed for new Fallout 5
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Bethesda's reassurance merits good-faith credence given substantive detail: the studio has designated The Elder Scrolls 6 as its primary focus with most staff committed to it, confirmed the technical foundation (Creation Engine 3), and structured closer collaboration with ZeniMax Online. Todd Howard's explicit acknowledgement that the studio must communicate better with fans, rather than issue empty corporate platitudes, suggests genuine reckoning with accountability and transparency about the project's trajectory.
The case against
The statement warrants measured scepticism given its defensive posture and historical context. It arrives as reactive damage control following Xbox layoffs rather than as organic development news, and the eight-year silence since announcement—with no substantial gameplay footage or credible milestone shown—reasonably invites doubt about timeline credibility. Corporate reassurances following staff reductions typically function to manage perception rather than reflect genuine momentum, and the very necessity of this statement indicates underlying concerns about project stability that such messaging alone cannot fully dispel.
Explained simply
The Elder Scrolls is one of gaming's most celebrated fantasy role-playing franchises, and the sixth main instalment has been eagerly anticipated by fans for years. The game was officially announced in 2018, but Bethesda has released little substantial information about its development since that time.
Bethesda Game Studios, which is owned by Microsoft, recently underwent significant redundancies as part of restructuring across the Xbox division. This prompted concerns amongst fans that the development team on The Elder Scrolls 6 might have been impacted, potentially threatening progress on the game.
The eight-year wait since the previous Elder Scrolls game launched in 2011, coupled with minimal public updates from Bethesda, has left many fans uncertain about the project's current state and release timeline. These anxieties have intensified in the wake of the recent industry turbulence affecting the studio.