Bethesda didn’t go to E3 2018 with just Fallout 76 to share. They said it would be their biggest E3 yet, and to ensure this they did something they don’t often do: announce upcoming titles early.

Usually Bethesda unveils their next game after months and sometimes years of speculation and rumors and even the dreaded leak or two, and it’s usually fairly close to when the game will launch. We now know for sure that the aforementioned Fallout 76 is their next big game, and that will be released later this year. But they are working on other projects as well, and they announced those too despite being well-off from release. The first was the long-rumored Starfield, and the other was of course The Elder Scrolls VI. Announcement teasers were shown for both of these titles, and you can watch them below.

I’m excited about Fallout 76 like most others are. I love that franchise, the game looks great, and it’s a Fallout world you can hang out in with your friends. I love The Elder Scrolls Online for the same reason. But at the same time, I’m a little bit sad tonight.

One of the big questions with 76 was, is that the only thing Bethesda is currently working on? With Fallout 4 being their last game a few years back, it seemed strange that they’d go right back into that franchise. Something horrifying to think about for fans of their other big franchise, The Elder Scrolls, who already wait years for a new adventure in Tamriel.

I’ve felt since we found out about The Elder Scrolls Online that Bethesda would finally take the opportunity to make a non-Elder Scrolls/Fallout game, something completely new, after the release of Fallout 4. Leaks and rumors seemed to indicate that this would indeed be the case, and that game would be called Starfield. So the announcement of Fallout 76 was a big curveball. Now not only is The Elder Scrolls VI not their next game, but it doesn’t appear to be the game after that either.

This makes me sad because Bethesda Game Studios is my go-to for single-player escapes—no worrying about what other players are doing, just exploring and getting lost in another world all by myself—and unlike The Elder Scrolls Online, which is actually developed by ZeniMax Online Studios, Bethesda themselves is making Fallout 76. On top of that, I’m one of the many Elder Scrolls fans who has been patiently awaiting the next game in the series since Skyrim was released. That’s almost seven years now, believe it or not. I was mentally prepared for Starfield to come first. I was not mentally prepared to have to wait for two new games to be released before The Elder Scrolls VI finally made its way to us.

Bethesda’s Todd Howard said during the E3 showcase that Starfield is being developed for the next generation of consoles, something that is still a few years off. Which means if The Elder Scrolls VI, currently in pre-production, is after that, we’re looking at sometime in the mid-to-late 2020s or so? It also means The Elder Scrolls will be skipping this generation entirely. A tear just rolled down my cheek typing that.

If you’re someone who will take their Elder Scrolls any way they can get it there is a small consolation prize: a new mobile game set in that world titled The Elder Scrolls: Blades, which will be out later this year. And it looks impressive for what it is, but obviously it’s not the same. No official trailer for that has been uploaded yet, but you can see it in the full Bethesda Showcase video below (jump to 2:36:43 if it doesn’t start there automatically) if you wish.

My great hope is that Bethesda has grown large enough where they can have teams making significant progress on multiple projects now that they have locations in Maryland, Montreal, and Austin, and that the wait to these next two games won’t be quite as excruciating as I fear it will be.

But for now, we can only keep these two games stored safely in the back of our minds as we prepare to take on the post-apocalyptic wasteland with friends.

Be sure to click right here for more from E3 2018!

Teasers

Currently in pre-production at Bethesda Game Studios, the acclaimed developers of Skyrim and Fallout 4. The highly-anticipated next chapter in the iconic The Elder Scrolls series.

Discover Starfield, the new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios. Starfield is the first new franchise in twenty-five years from the acclaimed developers of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series.

Video

https://youtu.be/OxGorVTMDIU?t=2h36m43s

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