Todd Howard says Elder Scrolls 6 will return to classic Skyrim-style RPG roots

Todd Howard says Elder Scrolls 6 will revive the classic exploration style seen in Skyrim

Todd Howard has said The Elder Scrolls 6 will mark a return to the studio’s “classic” role-playing formula, drawing comparisons to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Speaking on February 18 during an appearance on the Kinda Funny Gamescast, the Bethesda Game Studios director reflected on the company’s recent releases and its design direction.

“I think if you look at our games, we sort of always evolved,” Howard said.

He described Fallout 76 and Starfield as departures from the studio’s earlier style. “In many ways, Fallout 76 and Starfield are a little bit of a creative detour from kind of that classic Elder Scrolls…Fallout,” he explained, referencing titles such as Skyrim, Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, “where you’re exploring a world in a certain way.”

Howard indicated that the next instalment in The Elder Scrolls series would move back towards that approach. “As we come back to Elder Scrolls 6 that we’re doing now, we’re coming back to that kind of classic style that we’ve missed, that we know really, really well.”

He also confirmed that Bethesda has been upgrading its technology. The studio has evolved Creation Engine 2 into Creation Engine 3, which he said “is going to power Elder Scrolls 6 and beyond.”

Howard highlighted improvements to world systems and to how the studio delivers detail close to the camera, intending to create a denser and more seamless environment.

Plot details remain undisclosed. “We know where the game is set. We know some things we’re doing,” Howard said, adding that it is “gonna be a while yet.”