Elder Scrolls VI won't be like Starfield, says Todd Howard, will return to 'classic style'

Bethesda is rather tight-lipped about when it plans to release its next grand RPG, The Elder Scrolls VI. However, the studio director, Todd Howard, does drop some tidbits about the game from time to time. This time, he has revealed what the development team is using to build the RPG as well as its design direction.

The information comes from an interview with Kinda Funny Games, where Howard explained that its most recent single-player RPG, Starfield, and the multiplayer RPG experience, Fallout 76, were not the usual kind of games that Bethesda Game Studios releases.

However, it sounds like fans won't have to worry about exploring vast generated landscapes or UI-based exploration in The Elder Scrolls VI.

"In many ways Fallout 76 and Starfield are a little bit of a creative detour from kind of that classic Elder Scrolls and Fallout, where you are exploring a world in a certain way," explains Howard. "As we come back to Elder Scrolls VI, that we are doing now, we are coming back to that classic style that we’ve missed, that we know really, really well.”

Howard also commented on the engine that The Elder Scrolls VI will be using to power it. The studio-staple Creation Engine isn't going anywhere, but even more upgrades have been attached to it, bumping up the version from 2 (which powered Starfield) to Creation Engine 3. This version will be powering "Elder Scrolls VI and beyond," according to Howard. That may be hinting at the next Fallout game using the same updated toolset as well.

When fans can finally jump into the game is still up in the air, unfortunately. Despite being announced in 2018, Howard himself said in late 2025 that The Elder Scrolls VI is "still a long way off", adding that Starfield served as a creative reset for the team before diving back into the fantasy universe.