The Elder Scrolls VI is still at least 2–3 years out, says Bloomberg's Schreier
If you've been holding out for The Elder Scrolls VI, the wait just got a firmer — and sobering — shape. During a Bloomberg Live Q&A; on July 7, 2026, veteran games journalist Jason Schreier said TES VI is "at least 2–3 years away," putting the earliest plausible release window somewhere in 2028 or 2029. Schreier broke major Microsoft-Xbox stories during the FTC trial, so his read carries weight — though his "at least" qualifier leaves plenty of room for further slippage.
The slow road to release
Full production on The Elder Scrolls VI only began in 2023, after Starfield shipped. Before that, the team was in design and engine work on the new Creation Engine 3. Todd Howard confirmed in a June 2026 interview with Entertainment Weekly that the majority of Bethesda Game Studios developers are now on TES VI — but he also acknowledged the 2018 E3 announcement came "under pressure," and has since asked fans to essentially forget it happened. Eight years of public anticipation with nothing to show — no gameplay, no art, no confirmed setting — is an unusual position for any studio, let alone one of the industry's most-watched.
Xbox's priority, Microsoft's pressure
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who took the role following a restructuring that cut 3,200 jobs across Microsoft's gaming division, has named The Elder Scrolls a top franchise priority. The directive is for Bethesda to drop side projects and concentrate entirely on TES VI. That's a meaningful signal: Microsoft needs a blockbuster to justify its hardware roadmap, including what's expected around the 2027–2028 timeframe. Whether TES VI ends up as an Xbox console exclusive or reaches PlayStation remains unresolved — Sharma has not publicly committed either way, and that question will matter a great deal to the game's commercial reach.
What it means right now
Schreier's timeline is realistic given Bethesda's pace. Starfield itself took over five years of full production. If TES VI follows a similar trajectory from its 2023 start, a 2028 release would require things to go smoothly — and Howard's track record suggests they rarely do on schedule. The safest assumption: 2029, possibly later. For now, the best evidence that the game is moving is Howard's staffing admission and Sharma's public commitment, not any gameplay or release date.
