Nearly 15 years have passed since The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launched and reshaped the open-world RPG forever — and fans are still waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6. That painfully long gap has led many to wonder why Bethesda never brought in an outside studio to deliver a Fallout: New Vegas-style spin-off in the meantime. According to a Skyrim loremaster, the answer is simple: Bethesda guards its golden goose far too closely.
A 15-Year Wait (and Counting) for The Elder Scrolls 6
Skyrim arrived in November 2011 and went on to become one of the best-selling RPGs of all time, re-released on seemingly every platform imaginable. Meanwhile, The Elder Scrolls 6 was teased all the way back at E3 2018 with little more than a stretch of coastline and a logo — and it still has no release window. With Bethesda Game Studios busy with Fallout 76 and 2023’s Starfield, Tamriel fans have been left to survive on re-releases, modded playthroughs, and The Elder Scrolls Online.
The New Vegas Blueprint That Never Was
Bethesda has actually plugged a long gap in a franchise before. While the mainline team focused on other projects, the publisher handed the Fallout license to Obsidian Entertainment, which built Fallout: New Vegas in roughly 18 months using Fallout 3’s technology. Released in 2010, New Vegas became a landmark RPG beloved for its sharp writing, memorable factions, and deep player choice — proof that the right partner studio can deliver something special between mainline entries.
For years, Elder Scrolls fans have dreamed of a similar arrangement. Imagine a talented RPG studio crafting a focused spin-off set in some unexplored corner of Tamriel while Bethesda polishes The Elder Scrolls 6. Sadly, it seems that conversation never seriously happened inside the company.
Bethesda Stays “Very Protective” of Its Golden Goose
As Skyrim’s lead designer and resident lore authority explained, The Elder Scrolls simply isn’t a franchise Bethesda is willing to share. He described the series as Bethesda’s golden goose and noted the studio remains “very protective” of it — the mainline games are the beating heart of the studio’s identity, and farming a core single-player entry out to another developer was never really on the table.
It’s hard to argue with the logic. While Fallout was born under Interplay and passed through multiple hands before Bethesda revived it, The Elder Scrolls has been a Bethesda Game Studios creation since 1994’s Arena. Handing the keys to Tamriel to someone else would be a bit like Nintendo lending out Zelda — technically possible, but almost unthinkable.
Spin-Offs Exist — Just Not the Kind Fans Want
To be fair, the Elder Scrolls name has appeared on projects beyond the numbered mainline series. ZeniMax Online Studios has operated The Elder Scrolls Online since 2014, and titles like the mobile game Blades and the card game Legends have carried the brand forward. But none of these scratch the itch of a proper, New Vegas-style single-player RPG set in Tamriel — and that’s precisely the kind of project Bethesda keeps close to its chest.
What This Means Going Forward
Interestingly, Bethesda and Obsidian now both sit under Microsoft’s Xbox umbrella, which means a collaborative Elder Scrolls spin-off has never been logistically easier — and yet it has arguably never been less likely. Bethesda’s roadmap remains focused on Starfield’s post-launch support and, eventually, The Elder Scrolls 6, a game many industry watchers don’t expect until well into the late 2020s.
Until then, the evergreen Skyrim remains one of the best ways to revisit Tamriel — again. If you’re planning a return trip (or diving into The Elder Scrolls Online for the first time), you can pick up game keys, wallet gift cards, and Steam or Xbox cards at TURGAME.com at competitive prices.
Source: Eurogamer