Skyrim has been out for nearly 13 years at the time of this post. Every inch has been explored and every mod has been ran through a million times. I for one think we're over due for a new adventure. Having been in production since 2018 Elder Scrolls VI has come a long way. As of 2023 the game has entered active production meaning they're adding all the bells and whistles. About a year back Bethesda announced they have a playable intro where one can explore and interact with the environment. They've also been kind enough to offer us a potential release date of early 2026. But we all know not to hold our breath at that.
So that's all the time lines and those are all well and good, but what else do we know? Well, one may ask why did it take Bethesda so long to get this game rolling? Skyrim was released in 2011 and production for Elder Scrolls VI didn't even begin until seven years later (roughly). For that answer we look to Starfield, which uses a lot of the same team for production. People often complain about Starfield delaying the release of Elder Scrolls VI, asking why cant they hire more people to produce both games at once. Well, experience is important when producing a game of this caliber. We want Elder Scrolls VI to be top tier. Bethesda uses the same teams to produce similar games so that those games are exceptional and being produced by experienced professionals. I for one welcome the delay, if the end result is a stellar product. Also, if you think anything will change from Elder Scrolls VI to VII, you may want to rethink. Todd Howard of Bethesda has already stated he expects the game to stay relevant for 10-20 years after production is finished. This would hint to another long delay between titles.
But enough gossip about release dates, lets speculate! Now Bethesda has not come out right and said anything about where this story will take place. But I've seen all the teasers and I for one am convinced. Hammerfell is where the wise person places that wager. From the New Years post in 2020 that displayed a map of Tamriel with a candle in the middle of Hammerfell.

To the 2018 teaser (I know reverse timeline YUCK!) showing landscape very consistent to that of Hammerfell it all seems to point in that direction. But the most convincing piece of evidence to me is actually in Elder Scrolls Online (ESO). While producing an expansion for ESO there was a lot of data mined relevant to Hammerfell, but nothing ever came of it. Or should I say those resources where reallocated to the pocket realm of Oblivion in ESO. So between the potential easter eggs dropped in 2018 and again in 2020. The overwhelming lack of Hammerfell content in previous title releases, it seems the safe bet.
Well what about a story arc? That becomes a little more convoluted but there is one arch that seems the most likely, especially if the guess about Hammerfell being the main zone is correct. This has to do with the tower theory, created from a post by Michael Kirkbride, one of the original story arc writers. While this post is not technically cannon it has been archived in Imperial Library (imperial.library.info), a Elder Scrolls lore website. The Thalmor, one of the most brutal dark organizations in Elder Scrolls become more relevant in Skyrim. It is pretty well known they wish to rule the world. However it is believed they don't just want to rule humans, they wish to destroy all life as well as the physical realm. While we don't know the exact extent of the towers influence to the world of Nirn. It is believed that these towers hold together the fabric of reality itself. Most of these towers have been destroyed, in fact only three remain, one in Thalmor control already, another in the Imperial city and the last in Iliac Bay, that happens to boarder Hammerfell and High Rock. So with the insurgence of Thalmor presence and the significance of the Adamantium Tower in Iliac Bay, it seems likely the story arc will be Thalmor attempting to end all life centric.
To this point all we've done is make guesses and speculated, so what do we know? Well we know Elder Scrolls VI will be exclusive to Xbox and Windows. This is due to Microsoft buying out Zenimax, the company who owned Bethesda. So if you own a PS... well I heard FFXVI is good. We also know Elder Scrolls VI will be using the same graphics engine as Starfield. Even with that tech being nearly 12 years old Bethesda expects this to be the most significant leap in graphics they've seen yet. Making even the jump from Oblivion to Skyrim graphics seem inadequate. We also know that Bethesda is coming into this fully embracing modding. They have been very vocal about how they want this game to be easy to mod. After all even a game as great as Skyrim wouldn't stay as popular as it has without the modding community. Something Todd Howard and his staff did not let go without notice.
All and all only time will fill our hungry hearts that yearn for a new helping of Elder Scrolls adventure. For now we have ESO and the modding community of Skyrim to sustain us. But I think it's important to stay patient. A good game, created by professionals who know this format of game may take some time. But so long as we don't have another Cyber Punk release on our hands. I'm willing to wait for a polished perfect release.
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