Bethesda tease new ELDER SCROLLS video game project

Bethesda have posted an image hinting at new developments in their Elder Scrolls line of fantasy RPGs.

The Elder Scrolls is a bestselling series of video games, comprising the main games Arena (1994), Daggerfall (1997), Morrowind (2002), Oblivion (2006) and Skyrim (2011); and the spin-offs Battlespire (1997), Redguard (1998) and The Elder Scrolls Online (2014). The last main series title, Skyrim, is one of the biggest-selling games of the last decade, with over 30 million copies and sold and being ported to multiple platforms. With this year making the ten-year anniversary of the last game in the series, fans are increasingly antsy over when a sequel will be released.

Bethesda released their last big single-player CRPG, Fallout 4, in 2015, whilst a secondary team at the company developed a controversial multiplayer spin-off, Fallout 76, which was released in 2018. Bethesda also confirmed in 2018 that they are working on two new single-player games, a new IP title called Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI, although they cautioned that the latter game was in a very early stage of development. Bethesda have repeatedly said that Starfield is their current main project and will precede The Elder Scrolls VI by several years.

For this reason, it is highly unlikely that the image Bethesda has posted has anything to do with Elder Scrolls VI, or if it does, it will be fairly obliquely, since Elder Scrolls VI is likely still many years away.

More likely is that the image refers to recent and possible future plans for The Elder Scrolls Online. The map has a candle located over the city of Solitude in Skyrim Province, a key setting for the recent Dark Heart of Skyrim expansion; other candles located near a set of coins, which were given away as collectibles for the recent Greymoor expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online (set in Skyrim), and a candle burning in the province of Hammerfell. We know the next expansion for Online is The Gates of Oblivion, and will tie in with the other-dimensional realm of Oblivion as well as possible new content in the Imperial Province of Cyrodiil (probably non-coincidentally tying in with the 15-year anniversary of the release of Oblivion), although intriguingly the map is oriented so Cyrodiil (south-east of Skyrim and east of Hammerfell) is not a focal point.

The candle burning in Hammerfell though may be a nod at The Elder Scrolls VI, as that province has been long-rumoured to be the main setting for the game. Hammerfell is the home of the Redguard, an important faction in the Empire, and a likely flashpoint between the Empire and the rival force known as the Dominion, whose machinations drove much of the main plot of Skyrim. This would also explain the game's long-rumoured working title, Redfall (although recently a freelancer who worked on Skyrim and may be working on Elder Scrolls VI has said that this is not the title, implying Bethesda secured the IP for another project).

I suspect we won't learn much more about The Elder Scrolls VI for a long, long time. In the meantime Bethesda are hard at work on their new IP, Starfield, reportedly a large-scale science fiction game set in the distant future and which will allow players to visit different planets. Bethesda Vice-President Pete Hines has hinted that we will get more news about Starfield this year, which excited some fans who noted that Bethesda's last two games have been formally announced and had release dates set within only four months, which has helped them avoid the problem of "overhype" which has beleaguered some other recent releases.

Bethesda confirm they are now moving on from SKYRIM

Bethesda have confirmed that they have completed their release schedule for Skyrim, the fifth title in the Elder Scrolls series. Work is now underway on their next game, which will most likely be Fallout 4 based on the company's previous comments.

The news surprised some people, first for suggesting that work on the next game was not further advanced than it appears to be: Fallout 4's release had been anticipated for 2014, if not a surprise release for late 2013, as Bethesda had indicated that their next game would be on the current-gen Creation Engine that Skyrim also used. This news hints that Fallout 4 (assuming it is their next game) will not be out until a lot later and will either use a new engine or the current one will be tweaked for next-gen systems (given the impressive scalability of the engine on high-end PCs, this is possible).

More surprising is the indication that Skyrim's expansion cycle is complete. Bethesda had suggested that their DLC (downloadable content) packs for Skyrim would be substantial in size and quality. However, they only released one such substantial expansion with Dragonborn. The first DLC, Dawnguard, was a relatively short adventure, whilst the second, Hearthfire, only added a few cosmetic tweaks to the game. Rumours had abounded that two more substantial DLCs were planned. If this was true, they clearly have now been abandoned.

Whilst we are unlikely to see Elder Scrolls VI for another five or six years, hardcore fans will get to play The Elder Scrolls Online before the end of this year. An MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online has been developed by Bethesda's sister company, Zenimax Online Studios, but (personally speaking) looks rather underwhelming at this point.

Trailers: ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE & SC2: HEART OF THE SWARM

Bethesda and Blizzard have released trailers for their upcoming games The Elder Scrolls Online and StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm. Both trailers are unfortunately just CGI 'flavour' trailers rather than showing any gameplay.

First up is The Elder Scrolls Online, which takes the Elder Scrolls universe into the MMORPG realm. Set a thousand years before the events of Skyrim, the game will feature the entire continent of Tamriel (including locations already familiar to players of Skyrim and Oblivion) and will focus on a three-way war for control of the continent:

Second is StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm. The long-awaited expansion to StarCraft 2 itself, Heart of the Swarm focuses on the Zerg species and adds RPG elements to the strategy game. The trailer features most of the opening cinematic to the game, apparently:

No release date has been set for The Elder Scrolls Online, whilst StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm will be released on PC on 13 March.

ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE & COMPANY OF HEROES 2 announced

Two major new games have been announced for 2013.

First up is Company of Heroes 2. The original Company of Heroes was released in 2006 and was brilliant, easily the finest RTS released since StarCraft (a position it retained in the face of the latter's good-but-unoriginal sequel). Two so-so expansion packs followed, but it was the game's fiercely engaging multiplayer and its ridiculously inventive mod scene that really made it a success. Eastern Front, in particular, was an amazing mod that allowed players to play as the Russians.

Company of Heroes 2 is due for release in 2013 and will in fact be focused on the Eastern Front, allowing players to play as the Russians against the invading Germans (no word on if players will be able to play as the Germans as well; I assume so). The first game was noted for its destructible terrain and the sequel will continue to evolve that, with soldiers now able to leap over obstacles and snow forming a barrier which can slow troops and tanks down but can also be used as cover. A more robust line of sight will be featured and the game will apparently seek to recreate the massive battles of the Eastern Front, hinting at a possible move to a larger scale than the original game's smaller-sized engagements (D-Day, the largest battle featured in the original game, was only the 23rd largest battle of WWII, most of the bigger ones were fought in Russia).

The new issue of PC Gamer UK (on sale 9 May) will feature a lot more on the game and - most impressively - will come with a copy of the original Company of Heroes for free with every copy sold (UK only, unfortunately).

Also announced is The Elder Scrolls Online. In development at Zenimax Online for the past 'several years', the game will be set a thousand years before the events of Skyrim and see three factions fighting for control of Cyrodiil and the entire continent of Tamriel. Based on the Game Informer article, it sounds like the entire continent of Tamriel will be available for players to traverse and fight over. To be honest, it sounds a little MMORPG-by-the-numbers, but then few settings would suit that as well as the Elder Scrolls world. The game will be released in 2013 on PC and Mac.