Tidligere Bethesda Loremaster kaster lys over den lange veien til The Elder Scrolls 6

A former loremaster for The Elder Scrolls, Kurt Kuhlmann, has indicated that the setting for the highly anticipated title, The Elder Scrolls 6, was decided upon by members of the development team as far back as the production of Fallout 4. Despite leaving Bethesda in 2023, Kuhlmann has not disclosed the location. He explained that a consensus was reached easily among the people discussing it at the time, suggesting there was no argument about where the next installment should be set. The focus was more on the feeling and atmosphere of the setting, as a story had not yet been developed.

The conversation about the game's setting took place during the "Fallout 4 timeframe," according to an interview Kuhlmann gave via PC Gamer. He clarified that he is unaware if the agreed-upon location is still the plan, as he has been out of the loop for a couple of years and the decision was not completely locked in. Kuhlmann's departure from the company followed a change in direction regarding his role in the upcoming game.

"From when we were talking about it way back in the Fallout 4 timeframe, there was a sort of consensus amongst a few people that were talking about it."— Kurt Kuhlmann

Todd Howard, Bethesda's director, had initially promised Kuhlmann the lead designer role on the next Elder Scrolls installment. This was after Kuhlmann served as co-lead on Skyrim. However, the studio's focus shifted. Originally, The Elder Scrolls VI was set to release after Fallout 4, which launched in 2015. Instead, Bethesda went on to develop Fallout 76 and then Starfield. The official announcement for the sixth Elder Scrolls game did not come until 2018, presented as a short cinematic teaser showing a mountainous landscape.

Kuhlmann’s expectation of leading the project diminished near the end of Starfield's development, years after the teaser was first shown. The long development cycle of Starfield appeared to consume the studio's resources, leaving The Elder Scrolls 6 in a very early conceptual phase at the time of its announcement. Kuhlmann seems to have no knowledge of the game's story, stating he has not been involved on that level since his work on Skyrim. The 2018 teaser, in this context, was for a game that was still a vague idea being discussed internally.

Despite not being involved in the final story, Kuhlmann had a concept for the game's narrative. He envisioned a scenario where the game would end with the Thalmor taking over Tamriel, creating a high-stakes cliffhanger to be resolved in a potential seventh installment. He likened this idea to "The Empire Strikes Back." For now, the location of the next game remains a subject of speculation among fans, with many theories pointing towards Hammerfell or High Rock, based on the limited information from the eight-year-old teaser.

Read also, the wait for any news about the next installment in The Elder Scrolls series, The Elder Scrolls 6, has been a long one for fans. While official information remains scarce, recent updates from Bethesda offer a glimmer of hope, even as they confirm that the game is still a long way from release. In the meantime, a new open-world fantasy RPG, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, has emerged as a compelling alternative to tide over eager adventurers.