The thing is, we have already been twiddling our thumbs like good little Dovahkiins since we ventured into the world of Skyrim for hundreds of hours in 2011. We might have been spoilt by excellent games in the series already, but, frankly, we deserve something fresh.

Now, at least, we know that TES 6 is coming and, given Skyrim’s success, that isn’t a surprise. So we have set about discovering the latest Elder Scrolls 6 news and gameplay details, with a generous dollop of speculation for good measure. Here’s everything we know about The Elder Scrolls 6, from settings and gameplay features, to when we might be able to get our hands on it.

THE ELDER SCROLLS 6 RELEASE DATE

It might have been officially unveiled but there is sadly, no Elder Scrolls 6 release date. In fact, we won’t be getting The Elder Scrolls 6 until the next console generation. And only then it’ll be after Starfield.

But this hasn’t stopped the hype around The Elder Scrolls 6 getting the better of some. Analyst Michael Pachter, in 2016, optimistically predicted that The Elder Scrolls 6 release date would be in 2017.

Sorry @michaelpachter but you totally punted this one. You should listen to me (and Todd) more often.  https://t.co/PBodzub2sv

— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) December 27, 2016

This, of course, we now know to be wrong. In the tweet above Bethesda vice president Pete Hines debunked this theory saying: “Sorry @michealpachter but you totally punted this one. You should listen to me (and Todd) more often.”

The Elder Scrolls VI – Official Announcement Teaser

THE ELDER SCROLLS 6 TRAILER

Before we crack on with all the juicy news and rumours, here’s the Elder Scrolls 6 trailer. Judging by the terrain, it looks like TES 6 is taking us to either Hammerfell, home of the Redguard people, or High Rock, which is where the Breton race hail from.

The Elder Scrolls 6 news

The most recent crumb of Elder Scrolls 6 news comes courtesy of Skyrim composer Jeremy Soule who took to Facebook to announce that he was currently not involved with The Elders Scrolls 6. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Bethesda won’t bring Soule on board at a later date, but it’s interesting that he’s not currently involved – it could be that Bethesda are looking for a new sound or that they’re too early into development to be thinking about music.

There is also an interview between Pete Hines and VGR, which explains the exactly why Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls 6 at such an early stage: “We were honestly a little tired of being asked about Elder Scrolls 6”. So there you have it, the reveal doesn’t necessarily tell us anything about how far into production the Skyrim sequel is, just that Bethesda are sick to death of fielding the question.

Aside from that and the official reveal at the Bethesda E3 2018 showcase, there has not been much in the name of ‘new’ The Elder Scrolls 6 news for some time, but here’s what we know so far. On YouTube’s Live at E3 stream in 2016, Howard confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 is real and is one of three projects being developed internally at the company. One project remains unknown, but the other was announced in summer 2018 – here’s everything we know about the Fallout 76 release date.

Unfortunately, both Hines and Howard have confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 will likely be the last of the three projects to appear. Hines has said that “there’s still two major multiplatform releases has to work on first, and so TES 6 isn’t happening until those games happen.”

“I could sit here and explain the game to you, and you would say, ‘That sounds like you don’t even have the technology. How long is that going to take?” Howard said. “So it is something that’s going to take a lot of time, what he have in mind for that game, and we actually have two other large projects we’re also doing that are bigger than everything we’ve done. People will probably hear about those even before Elder Scrolls 6. That’ll make sense many years from now.”

On the other hand, several positions at Bethesda Game Studios are being advertised, all based in Rockville, Maryland. Meanwhile, in March 2018, the publisher opened a studio replete with a brand new team in Austin. Perhaps these developments will see these new hires working on The Elder Scrolls 6. Equally, they could be beavering away at the other two Bethesda projects.

The Elder Scrolls 6 location

When you see the Elder Scrolls 6 announcement trailer, there are two Elder Scrolls locations that may well spring to mind: High Rock and Hammerfell. Why? Mountains, large areas of coastline, and dry, arid landscapes.

But until Bethesda reveal more we don’t know what the Elder Scrolls 6 setting will be. The past few numbered entries to the series have mostly stuck to one region but, given the ambitious ideas going into the game, The Elder Scrolls 6 might see us travel to multiple regions – we might even see an entire continent, The Elder Scrolls Online-style.

There was some speculation that The Elder Scrolls 6 reveal trailer did not necessarily reflect an in-game setting and was just intended to set the tone. However, Todd Howard has revealed in an interview with Eurogamer that The Elder Scrolls 6 location has been known for a while and that the trailer allows you to rule some locations out.

Whilst discovering the aftermath of our decisions in Skyrim would make a return to Tamriel’s mountainous north interesting, we have our fingers crossed for a trip to a place and time that is completely new to the series in The Elder Scrolls 6.

How about Akavir? This continent to the east of Tamriel is home to the Snow Demons of Kamal, the serpent-men of Tsaesci, the monkey people of Tang Mo, and the Tiger Dragons of Ka Po’ Tun, collectively known as the ‘Akaviri’. Little is known about this enigmatic land, making it a tasty prospect as an Elder Scrolls 6 location.

Legend has it that the few humans that dared to travel to Akavir were eaten by the Tsaesci (we did say it was tasty). Tamriel and Akavir have shared a tumultuous relationship, shaping each other’s history in times of peace and war. Perhaps, in The Elder Scrolls 6, we could smuggle ourselves into the new region, trying to cope with living in a hostile land that very much does not want us. Akavir and Tamriel have long had a tumultuous relationship, and we would love to be a part of that in The Elder Scrolls 6.

Moving closer to the places we know well, we are itching to pack our bags for Valenwood in The Elder Scrolls 6, homeland of the wood elves, or Bosmer. Located to the south-west of Tamriel and opposite the Summerset Isles, Valenwood is an untamed land, dominated by uninhabited forest wilderness.

There’s Argonia, too. Otherwise known as Black Marsh or – less kindly – the Garbage Heap of Tamriel, it is the home of the reptilian Argonians and is full of onerous swamps and great inland waterways.

The Elder Scrolls 6 races

If The Elder Scrolls 6 does go somewhere completely new, perhaps we will see a few new races added to the formula, with all new lore and gameplay styles to get to grips with.

However, no new races were added to Skyrim, so it is less likely we will some some new species or races if The Elder Scrolls 6 sticks to Tamriel. That said, Sea Elves – also known as Moarmer – do feature in The Elder Scrolls Online, so perhaps they could return in a numbered main entry to the series.

The Elder Scrolls 6 story

One of the things that sets Skyrim apart from the rest of the series is its complex narrative full of political intrigue. Your role in the game’s civil war decides the fate of a troubled kingdom only nominally part of the Empire. Here’s hoping that The Elder Scrolls 6 story takes things to a new level.

May be titled The Elder Scrolls VI: Redfall

According to a rumour, the full title of the game may be The Elder Scrolls VI: Redfall.

First spotted by Newsweek, Bethesda just trademarked the name 'Redfall' for "computer game software for use with computers and video game consoles". And that's all we know.

It certainly sounds extremely Elder Scrolls-like and would be a fitting title for The Elder Scrolls VI, but there's a catch. The majority of Elder Scrolls games are named after locations in the world - Daggerfall, Morrowind, Skyrim, or the recent Elder Scrolls Online expansions of Summerset and Murkmire. The only games that aren't locations are very clear English words - Arena and Oblivion (and even those are based on specific places). There is no location called "Redfall" in the Elder Scrolls world.

Of course, that means nothing. Since Elder Scrolls VI would probably be set long after Skyrim, there could very well be a new location founded then. It may have something to do with the Redguard, the dark-skinned desert warriors of Hammerfell. Before the events of Skyrim, the Redguard had seceded from the Empire, became independent, and fought off an invasion by the Aldmeri Dominion. It's possible a new nation called Redfall has arisen since then. "Redguard" and "Hammerfell" certainly seem too close to "Redfall" to ignore.

Whilst the Elder Scrolls 6 story would, to an extent, depend on the setting and its history, hopefully the narrative of the game will match the ambition going into the game in its early stages.