Despite being announced over seven years ago, The Elder Scrolls 6 is 'still a long way off' according to Todd Howard

• Todd Howard, director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, has said The Elder Scrolls 6 is "still a long way off"
• The game was announced in June 2018 and still doesn't have a release date
• Howard suggested Bethesda could shadowdrop The Elder Scrolls 6 like Oblivion: Remastered

Todd Howard, director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, has provided an update on the development of the long-awaited Elder Scrolls 6, which he says is still no closer to launch.

Speaking in a recent interview with GQ amid the release of Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition, Howard confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 is "still a long way off".

"I’m preaching patience," he added. "I don’t want fans to feel anxious."

The Elder Scrolls 6 was revealed in June 2018, and its announcement became as old as The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was at the time in January this year. Now, over seven years later, there's still no sign of the highly anticipated sequel, but Howard did say that the studio "did a big play test" earlier this week, suggesting development is progressing steadily.

"I do like to have a break between them, where it isn't like a 'plus one' sequel," Howard said about making The Elder Scrolls games again. "I think it's also good for an audience to have a break — The Elder Scrolls has been too long, let's be clear. But we wanted to do something new with Starfield. We needed a creative reset."

A release date for the next Elder Scrolls title isn't likely to be revealed any time soon, with Howard explaining that he likes to "just announce stuff and release it" when ready.

"My perfect version — and I’m not saying this is going to happen — is that it's going to be a while and then, one day, the game will just appear."

In the meantime, Bethesda has launched several games, including Starfield, Fallout 76, and, most recently, Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition, which compiles the base game, all six expansion packs, and additional community content.

It also shadow dropped The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered in April this year for current-gen consoles and PC, without any formal announcement, taking fans by surprise.

When asked if Bethesda would also shadow drop The Elder Scrolls 6 like Oblivion: Remastered, when the time comes, Howard didn't immediately reject the idea.

"You might say that was a test run. It worked out well," he said.

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