Bethesda Devs Were Excited About Making Elder Scrolls 6 But Todd Howard Prioritized Starfield Instead

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Todd Howard Pushed For Work on Starfield After Fallout 4!

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  • Former Skyrim co-lead Kurt Kuhlmann says many Bethesda developers wanted to make The Elder Scrolls 6 after Fallout 4.
  • The studio instead moved ahead with Starfield due to Todd Howard being on board with this idea.
  • Many were surprised by the change in plans, and this is exactly why The Elder Scrolls 6 has taken so long.

The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently in production, but Bethesda does not expect to launch the game for a few more years. Admittedly, the wait for Skyrim’s successor has been quite long, with many fans growing restless.

A former Bethesda developer has also revealed exactly why this has been the case, noting that Todd Howard’s change of plans led to the team prioritizing Starfield.

Why it matters: Bethesda spent most of its manpower working on Starfield until 2023, and the team is still supporting this RPG with new content and updates.

The Elder Scrolls 5
The Elder Scrolls 6 Could Launch In 2028

Former Skyrim co-lead Kurt Kuhlmann has recently said that many developers at Bethesda Game Studios wanted to make The Elder Scrolls 6 after Fallout 4, but Fallout 76 proved to be an unexpected detour for the team.

The team was largely excited about returning to The Elder Scrolls after Fallout 4, but Todd Howard had other plans. As development on Fallout 76 was moving forward, the Bethesda Game Studios boss introduced Starfield as the team’s next big IP.

Todd was like: ‘No, we’re doing Starfield. I got that approved. It’s going to be a new IP. 

Starfield bethesda
Starfield shot to the top of the PSN pre-orders chart before launch.

As per Kurt Kuhlmann, he would have much preferred to work on The Elder Scrolls 6 instead of Starfield. The developer also said that this is something that was true for most of the others at Bethesda Game Studios many years ago.

Had this been the case, The Elder Scrolls 6 would have been out by now. However, the team has also learned valuable lessons from Starfield, so perhaps the delay was for the better.

What do you think about Todd Howard’s sudden pivot to Starfield? Share in the comments below.

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