The Elder Scrolls 6 Will Return to Bethesda's 'Classic Style' After Detours With Starfield, Fallout 76, Says Todd Howard

The Elder Scrolls 6 Will Return to Bethesda's 'Classic Style' After Detours With Starfield, Fallout 76, Says Todd Howard Southeast Asia Home Amazon Deals Pro-tips by Codashop PC PS4 Xbox One Nintendo Mobile Entertainment EsportsMoreSearch Home More About IGN SEAContactAdvertisePressUser AgreementPrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyRSSIGN Southeast Asia is operated under license by Media Prima Digital Sdn Bhd (199901014126) Change Region United States United Kingdom Australia Africa Adria Serbian/Croatian Adria Slovenian Benelux / Dutch Brazil China / 中国 Czechia / Slovakia France Germany Greece / Ελλάδα Hungary India Israel Italy / Italia Japan / 日本 Korea / 한국 Latin America Middle East – English Middle East – الأوسطالشرق Nordic Poland Portugal Southeast Asia Spain / España Turkey / Türkiye world.ign.com Register / Login Register / Login Login Register The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (5th Anniversary Edition) The Elder Scrolls 6 Will Return to Bethesda's 'Classic Style' After Detours With Starfield, Fallout 76, Says Todd Howard Fortunately, "the majority of people who made Skyrim are still here." This post might contain affiliation links. If you buy something through this post, the publisher may get a share of the sale. By Rebekah Valentine  Updated: Feb. 19, 2026, 6:45 a.m. Related reads:MapleStorySEA Celebrates 20th Anniversary With Massive Summer Updates The Elder Scrolls 6 is going to be a return to Bethesda’s “classic style” of games, according to Bethesda director Todd Howard.More like thisOpen Back Headphones: A Sound Experience Like No OtherThis comes from an interview done by Howard with KindaFunny today, in which he talked about why he can’t really provide too much of an update on The Elder Scrolls 6, and admits he would have preferred not to have announced it so early (in 2018).However, he says players can expect it to be a return to Bethesda’s classic form, after the studio took “creative detour[s]” with both Starfield and Fallout 76. Here’s the full quote from Howard:”We do have a certain style that we like and that our fans like that we want to get better and better at. I think in some ways Fallout 76 and Starfield are a little bit of a creative detour from that classic Elder Scrolls, Fallout, a Skyrim or a Fallout 3 or a Fallout 4, Oblivion, where you’re exploring a world in a certain way. And as we come back to Elder Scrolls 6 that we’re doing now, we’re coming back to that classic style that we’ve missed, that we know really really well.”Howard goes on, confirming that the studio has spent the last several years improving on Creation Engine 2, which is the game engine behind Starfield, and bringing it up to Creation Engine 3, which will power “Elder Scrolls 6 and beyond.”Later in the interview, he adds that “the majority of people who made Skyrim are still here,” while new faces have also joined the studio, bringing experiences from other studios to lend to The Elder Scrolls 6.It’s been a long, agonizing wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 since it was first announced – wow, okay, almost eight years ago. It has in fact been longer between the announcement and now than it was between The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the announcement of The Elder Scrolls 6. Howard has warned eager fans as recently as last November that the game is “still a long way off” and has even teased that he may just shadow drop it, something he alluded to again today with KindaFunny. He reiterated today that “it’s gonna be a while yet,” and confirmed that, “We’re able to play it, we’re about to pass a big milestone internally, the majority of the studio is on the game and some of our partners.”But Howard also claims all this waiting is necessary for the game to be great.“What do fans really want?” he said in December of last year. “Do they want a game that comes out before it should and doesn’t meet their expectations? Or do they want the turkey that is in the oven for long enough to be delicious when it finally comes out of the oven, you know? That’s what I think people are going to want. So, we’re going to take our time and as long as it needs to be great.”Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com. Related reads:Skyblivion Creators Say They’re Still Aiming for 2025 Release Date as Volunteer Devs Quit Fan-Made Recreation of Oblivion in Skyrim This post might contain affiliation links. If you buy something through this post, the publisher may get a share of the sale. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (5th Anniversary Edition) Buy on Amazon In This Article