‘Elephant in the Room’ 9 Years Later, Todd Howard’s First Words on The Elder Scrolls 6 Still Ring True

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It’s undeniable that The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the most eagerly awaited games yet to be released, but the issue lies in its prolonged wait—approaching 14 years if we include the launch date of Skyrim. This is nearly on par with the development time for Grand Theft Auto 6, which was announced recently in 2022, leaving a nearly 12-year gap since its predecessor. Interestingly, unlike Grand Theft Auto 6, The Elder Scrolls 6 has been confirmed to be in development by Todd Howard more than 9 years ago.

During an interview with Geoff Keighley at YouTube’s E3 Live Stream in June 2016, Todd Howard acknowledged the lingering question about whether Bethesda was developing The Elder Scrolls 6. Since then, his statement has gained a notoriety comparable only to Valve’s knack for counting to three. It is important to note that he did stress it was still “far in the future,” but the fact remains, like an elephant in the room, it is a topic that continues to be discussed due to the lack of clear evidence other than a 7-year-old, 37-second teaser trailer.

The Wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 Continues

Todd Howard Was Right to Be Cautionary About The Elder Scrolls 6

In essence, while The Elder Scrolls 6 wasn’t officially announced until E3 2018, Todd Howard’s discussions about the game in 2016 could be seen as just a formality. Whether or not he regrets his statements is something private to him and Bethesda. However, on June 13, 2016, the news broke that The Elder Scrolls 6 was indeed in development, and fortunately for us, it was a Thursday, so there was no risk of the game being cursed from the start if it had been a Friday.

Despite Todd Howard’s prudence in labeling The Elder Scrolls 6 as the “elephant in the room” due to its high anticipation, it’s challenging to imagine that anyone expected such a long delay of nearly a decade, and even stretching to 14 years if we consider Skyrim’s initial release. After all, while The Elder Scrolls 6 might not have been officially confirmed as in development in 2011, the tremendous success of Skyrim essentially guaranteed that more exciting installments would emerge from the well-known RPG series.

The Elder Scrolls 6 Is Now a Fully-Grown Elephant

Now that the elephant has grown into a colossal, towering structure larger than the Paintress’ depicted in “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33”, it has undeniably outgrown its initial home where it was once viewed as domesticated. Instead of being confined within, it is now rampaging around, making its dominance felt with each stride. Its existence is unmissable and too substantial to be overlooked, yet its appearance remains a mystery. Is it pink? Purple? Or perhaps the rumors are true, and it resides in Hammerfell?

Todd Howard wisely chose to approach The Elder Scrolls 6 with caution, referring to it as the “giant in the room” since he understood it was a hot topic on everyone’s minds at the time, and then made sure the release date was left as flexible as possible.

It was ironic that Todd Howard didn’t consider 2016 too early for updates, but now in 2021, he’s confirming that the project is underway for Oblivion Remastered. Although there hasn’t been any announcement about The Elder Scrolls 6 being canceled, and since a release date hasn’t been set yet, it’s not facing potential delays – let’s keep our fingers crossed.

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2025-07-29 17:11