Considering that those who had The Elder Scrolls 6 on their wish list just heard bad news, Todd Howard, the boss of Bethesda, is the messenger. The game’s spokesperson made it quite clear during a talk that the game’s release is “still very distant,” and concurrently he is seeking gamers’ patience and trying to console them with the thought that he is not the one urging them to panic. He went on to tell that his best case scenario would simply be to let the cat out of the bag and no longer keep it a secret, but he admitted that it is very unlikely that it is like that at present. So yes, it is going to be a long wait.
The online reaction has been…very mixed at best. Part of the gamers’ community has already given up on the game. One user, Sentinowl, with a lot of bluntness said that they have “stopped caring” and that in their view, Bethesda “should not even have revealed it at all.” This hatred is echoed by many others who believe that the length of the development is just too much. Junijii made a good remark, stating that if the game takes such a long time, by the time it comes out the gameplay may feel “old and outdated.” That is a valid argument – technologies evolve so fast that a game being developed for two decades could be a thing of the past when it hits the market. YoungAndUseless5 participated in the discussion by saying, “The best games on future don’t take over a decade to get ready,” which sounds like a management problem at Bethesda.
Nevertheless, there is another group of people who see it otherwise. For some, the delay is really acceptable provided the end product is of the topmost quality. PanzerHexer pointed out that based on the studio’s recent performance, they would “rather the studio take their time with the game” to ensure there would be no “Starfield disaster” again. This was in response to praising the fan project Skyblivion, which is a large mod that aims to remake Oblivion using Skyrim’s engine. It is quite interesting to discover where gamers are placing their trust – with the official studio that is taking its time or with the devoted modders who are delivering the experience that players want immediately.
While we were talking about the very essence of getting an Elder Scrolls immediately, the conversation naturally moved on to Elder Scrolls Online. The user senb0n22a made a strong point for the case of ESO and told the other player “Just enjoy Elder Scrolls Online, turn off all the glowies and get the settings just perfect it’s a skyrim-lite online with insane depth.” They went on to say that with all its lore and story it is the best way to wait. Lady Pensioner, another user said she has been playing ESO for ten years but still she admitted she is getting tired of the same events repeating themselves. It appears that for many the MMO is still a good interim solution, despite its own issues, like the existence of PvP zones that make it hard for solo players.
HarmanSmith64 drew a parallel between George R.R. Martin’s long-awaited and heavily delayed novel “The Winds of Winter” and The Elder Scrolls 6, and honestly, it is a perfect match. Both are waiting for the release of sequels of enormous favorites that have been around for ages, with only vague promises and long silence from the creators. It creates this very peculiar cycle of hope, frustration, and memes.
Some comments are just pure gamer skepticism. AdamKY4498 exclaimed that “Tainted Grail IS Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda is over.” This is an extreme viewpoint. AndrewJohn74607 was really extravagant when he suggested: “All they need to do is re-release Elder Scrolls 4 with characters like Genshin Impact.” That really is something very bizarre to visualize. And then there is age_dna, who simply and almost resignedly states: “Please, learn from your Starfield disaster.” Ouch!
The shadow of Skyrim is definitely the primary dilemma in this entire matter. HoundBloth6, a person using the gaming community platform, has claimed that Skyrim is “still very much relevant after more than 14 years and still one of the absolute best-selling video games ever.” The ball is in Bethesda’s court to develop something that is as good as that or even better. They perceive it as a matter of life and death. It could very well be that they planned to make the game announcement early on to both build hype and silence doubts about the series’ future, but it apparently backfired with the segment of the audience that is now enduring this prolonged waiting for the promised something, which is certainly to be the case with the gamers feeling the most impatience.
So what’s the status? Todd Howard is asking for patience. A large portion of the gaming community has already run out of PlayStation and Xbox
