Bethesda has again unveiled a teaser for Elder Scrolls Online, and it has set the gamers to wild this time. But it is not the content that has caused the stir – the speculations surrounding the sixth installment of Elder Scrolls are still very much alive and are the primary subject of discussions. The official Elder Scrolls account presented the fans with stunning Leyawiin artwork, which is a city perched on the border of Black Marsh and Elsweyr, accompanied by the words that it hosts more Khajiit and Argonians than most other settlements in Cyrodiil. Furthermore, the Blackwood Company was mentioned, which if you have played Oblivion, you know is the most untrustworthy band of “adventurers” ever.
Responses are nothing but endless yelling about ES6, though. Almost every other comment is a question for, “WHERE ELDER SCROLLS 6” or a statement along the lines of “THIS ISN’T ES6” expressed by users like xXChoombaXx. It is humorous to see how much people want that next installment game. On the other hand, Bethesda is merely trying to sell their current MMO expansion.
The artwork is truly magnificent, without a doubt. It portrays the hustling and bustling port city with a variety of different buildings and the sight of both the beast races living together in peace. A tattooed-western-rock-star-like muscular man stands in the front and looks so powerful that he might be connected with the Blackwood Company? MAJ_Starman asks if he is perhaps the likeness of a certain NPC and I must say that is an excellent question. The Blackwood Company was playing the role of a rival to the Fighters Guild in Oblivion but with a lot more corruption and less morality. It would be quite interesting if their questionable ethics were part of the plot of this new era.
There are some gamers, however, that are actually supporting the place stamina. stalepopcornx wrote “Leyawiin is my favorite city to settle down in Oblivion” which is reasonable as it is a nice and colorful border town. Dicequake had a witty view, though – “With all those nice buildings, it’s a shame we’re stuck with a crappy shack for a home” which is simply the classic Elder Scrolls humor at its finest.
Then, there is the issue of… the political chaos in the comments. The coupe csa_sad_understood and verrbluffenの conversation about Nazis and American politics which had nothing to do with the Elder Scrolls turned out for some reason. Like dudes, can we not talk about fantasy games just for five minutes without it being related to the real-world politics? The aim of the games is to break free from the baloney.
The physical edition saga is never-ending, too. JediDNA bluntly stated, “No REAL physical, no buy!” which seems to be a reference to that whole hot topic of Bethesda making fake physical editions that come only with download codes. 4ThePeopleEagle jokingly asked if the Blackwood Company also handled the pseudo-physical editions which was quite witty!
But what is really shocking is how many people are treating this artwork as if it contained some veiled ES6 clues in it. BiggusKippus bared his soul saying, “Can’t wait to spend 5 hours looking at this per hoping to find a TESVI tease” and like… mood. The longing is really visible. Real Elder Scrolls 6 news has not been released since roughly 2018 when that 30-second teaser was shown. Meanwhile, Elder Scrolls Online is still getting these gigantic expansions every year.
Questions about the artist surfaced too – dagothurservant wanted to know who the artist was, and Bethesda did not respond, which is a pity since it is really fantastic work. A work that is very elaborate and shows the mixing of Khajiit and Argonian cultures with the Imperial architectural style. Prismia_ tagged it as “some nice artwork” which, to be fair, feels like an understatement.
At the end of the day, this is classic Bethesda marketing-likely place hints with the past and old-school fans recognizing the signals and watching the community go wild with speculation. The mere mention of the Blackwood Company hints that there will be a moral quandary in this new chapter that could result in excellent storytelling. And while we are still waiting for ES6, every new announcement from ESO is driving the players crazier. It is almost as if the company is teasing them at this point. But at least the artwork appreciates it.
