It’s been more than 13 years since Bethesda returned to the world of The Elder Scrolls, with a whole bunch of… stuff in between, including at least as many re-releases of Skyrim in that time. We know that The Elder Scrolls VI is real, and now the leaks are really starting to pick up. According to known tipster eXtas1s (via Reddit), Bethesda’s sequel to the wildly popular Skyrim will be The Elder Scrolls VI: Hammerfell.
eXtas1s’ source appears to be coming from a colleague of his, who offered a whole lot more information about the direction Bethesda will take for the Elder Scrolls series, and it all seems mightily ambitious, particularly for such a tight-knit group of devs. Dragons are reportedly making a return to this world, with a few innovations that could help the world feel more lived-in. We’re talking bigger, more intricate cities and a whole lot more of them.
New Elder Scrolls on the way?
While the Hammerfell title indicates that’s where we’ll be spending most of our time, eXtas1s says gameplay will span to the High Rock provinces of Tamriel. That could involve crossing the seas with a new naval system that’ll see players building their own ships (ala Starfield) and even getting into naval squabbles (ala Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag?). We wouldn’t put it past Bethesda to just stick with a simple fast travel system, though.
As for those cities we mentioned, there are reportedly 12-13 “big cities” in the same vein as Whiterun and Winterhold, which would go a long way in expanding the already-large scope of the previous title. There’s also talk of a Fortress and Village-building system on top of settlements, similar to that of Fallout 4.
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While this all seems on pretty par for Bethesda’s next big thing – borrowing mechanics from its more recent games – the news of a more flexible progressions system that does away with classes for “natural progression and better combat,” calls the validity of the leaks into question. The Elder Scrolls series already abandoned set classes before Skyrim was ever a thing, so the news of it being nixed again seems incorrect.
Another big ‘if’ was the news that Hammerfell could be shown off as soon as July 2025, a month after the Summer Games Fest. The rumours of an Oblivion remake coming in 2025 feel pretty nailed-on at this point, and adding the next mainline Elder Scrolls into the mix feels like bordering on a hopium overdose. It’s worth remembering these are just rumours until Bethesda confirms these features itself, so grab that salt-shaker.
