Todd Howard Says The Elder Scrolls 6 Is Still A Long Way Off But Now A Daily Focus

The Elder Scrolls 6 continues to exist at a careful distance — real, in progress, but still a long way from the public’s hands. Todd Howard, the game’s director and Bethesda Game Studios’ most recognizable voice, told GQ in a recent interview that while patience remains essential, the long-anticipated sequel has become part of his daily routine. He said:

“I’m preaching patience.”

“I don’t want fans to feel anxious.”

Howard spoke from his home office in Rockville, Maryland, surrounded by shelves of game memorabilia — a small personal backdrop to what has become one of gaming’s longest waits. It has been fourteen years since Skyrim, and seven since The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced in 2018 with a brief, wordless trailer. In that time, Bethesda has moved through Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and the expansive launch of Starfield, each a project of scale and expectation.

In conversation with GQ, Howard described the current phase of development as steady and consuming, the kind of project that defines the studio’s rhythm even without public milestones.

“We have hundreds of people on Fallout right now, with 76 and some other things we’re doing,” he said, “but The Elder Scrolls 6 is the everyday thing.”

He admitted that the series’ long absence has been excessive.

“The Elder Scrolls has been too long, let’s be clear,” he said.

“But we wanted to do something new with Starfield. We needed a creative reset.”

The comment reflects a balance familiar to Bethesda: managing legacy without repetition. For all of Skyrim’s enduring success, the studio resisted moving straight into another iteration, choosing instead to build an entirely new world first.

Howard’s remarks also reveal how Bethesda’s sense of timing has shifted. The company has learned to embrace distance between releases, often spanning nearly a decade between major titles. “I do like to have a break between them, where it isn’t like a ‘plus one’ sequel,” he said. That rhythm, he believes, benefits both developers and players — allowing time for new ideas to form rather than merely continuing what came before.

Asked about when players might see The Elder Scrolls 6, Howard offered no hint of a date or trailer, only a preference for quiet work over prolonged hype.

“I like to just announce stuff and release it.”

“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.”

That understated idea — a shadow drop for one of the most anticipated games of all time — is almost unthinkable in modern publishing, yet it fits Howard’s long-standing discomfort with extended marketing cycles. Earlier this year, Bethesda released the Oblivion remaster without advance notice.

“You might say that was a test run,” he teased.

“It worked out well.”

The director also described recent moments inside Bethesda that underline how long the process has already been. Just days before the interview, the studio conducted a full play test of The Elder Scrolls 6.

“You have to really look at the screen and say, ‘What is this? What does this need? Where are we at?’”

“Great games are played, not made. The screen doesn’t lie.”

Howard has spent decades in that cycle — from Oblivion to Fallout 3, from Skyrim to Fallout 4 — each project larger and more elaborate than the last. Even now, he admits to the same creative tension that defined earlier eras of the studio. “If there’s some level of anxiety for how we are going to pull this off, that’s not bad,” he said. “We won’t always get there, but I’d rather push.”

What The Elder Scrolls 6 ultimately becomes remains unseen, but Howard’s tone suggests a game still evolving rather than finalizing. Its existence is not in question; its arrival simply isn’t close. After years of silence, the message is both reassurance and warning: progress continues, but patience will remain part of the experience.

Read also, The Elder Scrolls 6 Is Reportedly in a “Playable” State — But Still No Release in Sight. Recent reports suggest the long-awaited sequel has reached a “quite playable” stage internally, though Bethesda has shared no timeline. For fans, that distinction — playable but not ready — may be the most accurate description yet of where the next Elder Scrolls stands: real, alive, and still waiting for its moment.