Bethesda’s official Elder Scrolls account released a soothing and simple image of a winter landscape accompanied by a castle tower touched by the sun which they called “morning moment of zen”. However, the users were not quiet at all and in the comments, they wanted to hear about The Elder Scrolls VI and expressed their worries about the role the franchise would be taking in the future.
The tweet shows a beautiful winter scene that the most committed fans instantly identified as Frostcrag Spire from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Although the image is relaxing, the section for comments was filled with the noise of impatient customers who had been hoping for the company to deliver news on the next episode of the series. One user said bluntly: “Make elder scrolls 6 you cowards!” and another one made a funny comment, “I guess I might as well have kids so they can play.”
This is a tough experience for the gamers community. Bethesda has kept the announcement of The Elder Scrolls VI for over seven years with just a short teaser. Only silence has followed. Silence, actually, but mixed – there have been several Skyrim re-releases and various Elder Scrolls Online content but the storyline of the sixth main installment is still hidden. A user remarked: “Hey @bethesda its been 7 years, 149 days, 12 hours, 37 minutes since announcing Elder Scrolls VI and all we have is that lame teaser trailer what is going on?” The audience is becoming impatient.
There were players who very quickly began to voice their concerns that the game’s direction might take a hit from Starfield’s release. Some were afraid of too much dependence on the Starfield template for The Elder Scrolls VI. A user wished, “Please don’t be Starfield with a ES skin,” another one said, “Just don’t be UE5 and we’re good.” The comments reflect the community’s worries regarding the chances of Bethesda reinvigorating the earlier Elder Scrolls titles’ charm.
The issue of music was another controversial one in the replies, with several users regretting the absence of the composer Jeremy Soule, who was responsible for Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim soundtracks. A user said: “Jeremy Soule is half of Bethesda, and he is the main reason their games feel timeless,” and another one called him “one of the best composers in the industry.” The discussion surrounding Soule’s departure illustrates the extent to which players associate a particular creator’s voice with the series’s identity.
Another user complained about the current game’s series technical problems that one of the users faced and said it “still runs like crap on PC.” He then proceeded to ask for some basic quality-of-life features such as a photo mode and the ability to turn off the HUD elements for better pictures. This is a priority issue that indicates that players are not only waiting for new content but also want older content to work smoothly on PlayStation.
Despite this, the comments were still dominated by nostalgia. A player who “adores Oblivion and its soundtrack so much” and another who was simply happy to have his memories of Frostcrag Spire rekindled are just two from among many who have expressed their fondness for Oblivion. However, one user was enthusiastic and pictured it as: “if this was your morning view, just give me a sweet roll, and it’s perfection.”
The dissonance in the community’s responses is quite revealing. There are players on the one side who are very excited at the sight of just one beautiful screenshot that they even want to reinstall the game while on the other side there are gamers who feel they are being teased and are frustrated by the lack of solid news about the future of the franchise. One comment expressed this contradictory feeling very concisely: “I’d be more zen if we had some news on TES VI. But you are right, this does give me zen vibes.”
It is remarkable how one harmless and beautiful picture can generate such a heated discussion that includes everything from game engines and composer controversies to release date issues. The Elder Scrolls community is still tightly knit with the series’ future and they are ready to express it by either wishing or worrying. Even though Bethesda keeps The Elder Scrolls VI a secret, players never stop examining tweets and pictures for clues about the future.
In the end, the conversation is about an excited but impatient fanbase. From Jeremy Soule’s legendary soundtracks to the unique magic of getting lost in Cyrodiil in Oblivion, they still connect these elements with the earlier games and wonder if the next one can be as good. Until Bethesda drops some motivating news, every tweet will likely continue to stir up a mix of nostalgia, excitement, and irritation among players who are just eager to know when they can return to Tamriel in a meaningful way on their Xbox.
