"Just Pretend We Didn't Announce It": Todd Howard on Keeping Balance with The Elder Scrolls 6 News
"Doesn't exist."
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It's been almost 8 years since the Elder Scrolls 6 announcement trailer, and fans can't wait for the game to finally come out, so they ask about it over and over again – a fact that Bethesda's boss Todd Howard seems not very happy about.
In 2023, he said he regretted how the studios had announced the game: "I probably would've announced it more casually."
Now, he is even more adamant: "Just pretend we didn't announce it. Doesn't exist," he told IGN when asked about the Elder Scrolls 6 reveal.
Howard says he's more conscious of what he shares and at what time:
"I like to say I always start with when you go and press play, you're about to play a game. What do you already know? What's in your head? What's your excitement level? What are your expectations? And I kind of back up from there. I prefer not to talk about stuff until then. I like to compress that moment when you hear about a game to when you can play it."
However, it's not the same formula for every game: sometimes the studio needs to inform people and take into account "business considerations."
"If you look back at the Fallout 76/Starfield/Elder Scrolls 6 announcements [from Bethesda's E3 2018 showcase], that was really about informing our audience, because when you're going to do something new, everyone's going to ask, ‘What about Elder Scrolls 6? What about a single-player game?’ And we did it that way, but it's not my preference. And I will say, we struggle with the balance because our fans want to know."
And with all of Bethesda's projects, there are many more fans wanting to know about each of them, so the company needs to keep in mind what to say when.
"Look at Starfield today; I feel like the Starfield audience has been like, ‘What about us?’ And we had sort of a balance with like, ‘Hey, the end of the Fall was for Fallout the TV show,' with everything we were doing. And we knew that we were just going to save the Starfield stuff to give it its spotlight during this time. But yeah, it's a balance."
The Elder Scrolls 6 seems to be doing well, it seems, despite Howard's unwillingness to talk about it: "We've had more days than we've ever had where the build is good, there's new stuff in it, and we can play it."
"IGN: So since we're on the topic of Elder Scrolls 6, what can you tell me about-
Todd Howard: Nothing.
IGN: -where it's at.
Todd Howard: I've never heard of it."
We'll see what Creation Engine 3 can deliver whenever TES 6 eventually comes out.
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