More discussion is being had around The Elder Scrolls 6 as the hype for Starfield lulls in the wait for its Shattered Space DLC. While it is undeniable that Starfield was one of the most expansive and ambitious releases that has come from Bethesda in some time, it seems inevitable that the next entry to the studio's massively popular fantasy RPG franchise will eclipse the space-faring title.
Fans have been waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6 for well over a decade at this point, with the expectations surrounding the title growing with every passing year. Despite being officially announced in 2018, Bethesda has been eerily silent in relation to the project ever since, but the hype around The Elder Scrolls 6 is still as high as ever. The legacy of The Elder Scrolls and the huge fan base it has amassed over the past three decades speaks for itself, and TES6 should be spared from the same restrictive console availability that Starfield controversially employed.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Should Have Much Better Platform Availability Than Starfield
It was no wonder that Starfield attracted so much industry-wide attention in the run-up to its release, with the game marking the launch of Bethesda's first brand-new IP in over 25 years. With Starfield's early marketing stressing uninhibited exploration across over 100 solar systems and 1,000 planets, it's not surprising that so many people were keen to get their hands on such an ambitious title.
However, many fans were shocked as more details began to release regarding Starfield, particularly in regard to the news that the game would only be available on Xbox consoles and PC. Of course, this was made possible due to Microsoft's ownership of Bethesda, having acquired the popular studio through the purchase of its parent company, ZeniMax Media, in 2021 for $7.5 billion.
With Bethesda now falling under the Xbox Games Studio name, Starfield acted as the first glimpse into a new life for the studio's most high-profile titles, with Microsoft leveraging its ownership to muscle PlayStation out of the Bethesda market. As a brand-new IP, keeping Starfield's console presence limited to Xbox hardware was not as controversial as it otherwise might have been, but this same strategy should not be used for The Elder Scrolls 6.
The Elder Scrolls' Reputation is Too Large For Console Exclusivity
Bethesda has built up the reputation and community of The Elder Scrolls over the past 30 years across a wide range of platforms, with its more recent releases having strong communities across most console names. If The Elder Scrolls 6 was to release solely on PC and Xbox, it would run a great risk of alienating huge portions of its pre-existing fan base, many of which have been waiting over a decade for TES6 to finally release.
While it is only logical that Microsoft would use console exclusivity tactics to get a return on its massive acquisition investments, using this strategy for a franchise as large as The Elder Scrolls may be more harmful than lucrative. It is fair to say that Starfield was not as successful as Bethesda may have hoped it would be, and this stigma may carry forward into the launch of TES6, meaning non-Xbox console users may be more inclined to simply not play the game whatsoever.
Reducing the available platforms for The Elder Scrolls 6 may be a gamble that Bethesda and Microsoft cannot afford to make, but above all else it would be an insult to fans who have waited so long for the title. With Microsoft stressing its ethos of ensuring that gaming remains "for everyone" after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it only seems right that a title as anticipated as The Elder Scrolls 6 should involve completely different platform plans from the restricted console availability of Starfield.
The Elder Scrolls 6
- Released
- 2026
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda Softworks
- Franchise
- The Elder Scrolls
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox (Original)
- Genre(s)
- RPG
