Bethesda has been talking a bit about Elder Scrolls 6 . That’s great! It confirmed the game is in development during E3 2016, and Pete Hines, the studio’s Vice President, just talked a bit about it with PC Gamer . Unfortunately, these aren’t illuminating talks. Instead, all Hines did was say that Bethesda isn’t going to talk about or show anything from Elder Scrolls 6 until the game is ready to release. And that, friends, is disappointing for all of us. It’s the wrong way to sell a game.
Yes, there’s something to be said for respecting the creative process. And I’m sure staying mum on Elder Scrolls 6 does mean there’s less pressure on the development team. It’ll allow them to focus on the game itself, which is good. But we live in the information age. Expecting people to buy a game just because it has the Fallout or Elder Scrolls name attached is arrogant and foolhardy, and we expect to hear more.
First, Hines told PC gamer that Bethesda only confirmed Elder Scrolls 6 because he was tired of people asking if it existed and was in development. Here’s the thing. People already know it exists and is in development. Skyrim sold over 22.7 million copies. It’s one of Bethesda’s biggest games and the fifth installment. Of course there was going to be a sixth. Even if Bethesda didn’t confirm it, we knew it was going to happen. So, while there may be some truth to what Hines said, it’s also quite likely that confirming it was the first step to building up hype.
Second, Hines told PC Gamer that Bethesda wanted its developers to focus on Elder Scrolls 6 , and not demos that will give people hints at what the game will look like and show it off. Except here’s the thing. When it comes to game development and giving people looks at an in-progress product, we aren’t always seeing demos created specifically for that purpose. EA’s been showing us character models, inspirational art, and glimpses at cutscenes from Mass Effect Andromeda and Battlefield 1 . The same happened with Sony’s The Last Guardian and Uncharted 4 . Even though Nintendo specifically created two demos for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, we were seeing snippets of art from the game ahead of time and these two demos are very obviously taken from the in-progress product. They didn’t stop work on the game to make them, and Bethesda’s staff wouldn’t have to stop everything to prepare demos and reels for events.
Besides, pulling a Fallout 4 isn’t a good idea. It was announced in June 2015, then released the following November. That wasn’t nearly enough time to build up hype. The game turned out pretty good, but it wasn’t on par with Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas . Perhaps an earlier lead time and additional footage would have given us the chance to see that ahead of time. Which brings us to another point. That sort of announcement/release schedule makes Bethesda seem shady, as though it’s hiding something. It didn’t do that with Skyrim , which was announced in December 2010, then released almost a year later in November 2011. There was time to show off what the developer had done and enlighten people.
Bethesda should be more open about Elder Scrolls 6 . This is a title that has the potential to be one of its biggest games, if not its biggest. Rather than keeping hush the entire time and suddenly dropping the news that it’ll be released in four to six months, it should include its fans in the creation process. Show us the art behind character designs. Let us see models of towns as they’re being built. Be a little more transparent. It’ll help people understand what goes into such games, appreciate them more, and be willing to drop $60 or more on launch day.