Phil Spencer Drops Clue on Release Date for The Elder Scrolls 6

In the midst of Microsoft's legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission over the attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox Head Phil Spencer dropped a significant hint about the release date of The Elder Scrolls 6. This revelation came during the second day of a preliminary injunction hearing regarding the FTC's efforts to block Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard.

On June 11, the fifth anniversary of The Elder Scrolls 6 announcement, Bethesda showcased a CGI teaser at E3, featuring a picturesque landscape believed to represent either Hammerfell or High Rock, two provinces within the fictional continent of Tamriel. Despite the passage of time, the game remains distant from its release, much to the chagrin of eager fans who have been waiting since 2018.

During his testimony in a San Francisco court on June 23, Spencer reinforced this notion. When asked about the game's availability on PlayStation, the Xbox chief stated that discussing target platforms for Bethesda's upcoming RPG was premature given its distant release timeframe. He further described The Elder Scrolls 6 as "a game that's five-plus years away." These remarks align with Bethesda's previous confirmation that active development on The Elder Scrolls 6 would commence only after the launch of Starfield, a highly anticipated title set to debut on September 6, after several delays.

Starfield entered full production in late 2015, following the release of Fallout 4. Even if Bethesda aims to buck the trend of increasingly lengthy AAA development cycles, the nearly eight-year gap between their last two games casts doubt on Spencer's optimistic prediction. It is worth noting that the current fan petition calling for The Elder Scrolls 6 to drop Xbox exclusivity may be premature, given the state of the project as described by the executive.

In the same hearing, Spencer disclosed that as late as 2020, Microsoft was uncertain about Starfield's availability on Xbox until the company acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, a year later. While this comment could be interpreted in light of a September 2020 report suggesting Sony's interest in a timed exclusive for Starfield on the PS5, it primarily aimed to emphasize that decisions regarding platform availability are typically made during the later stages of a game's development cycle. Consequently, Spencer declined to speculate on the target platforms for The Elder Scrolls 6.