The wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 is starting to feel interminable, but that hasn’t stopped fans of the franchise from being excited about it. Of course, The Elder Scrolls is considered by many to be one of the best western RPG franchises out there, with Skyrim regularly topping lists of greatest-ever open-world games, so it would definitely be tough to staunch the overall hype for a new entry in the series, even if Bethesda hasn’t actually shown anything yet.
Having said that, Bethesda’s formula has been the recipient of a good deal of criticism in recent years, especially following the release of Starfield. While the bread-and-butter design philosophies that have driven the company’s games since Oblivion are still satisfying for many, others have argued that the developer has failed to innovate and evolve, relying too heavily on world and RPG systems of the past. There’s certainly some truth to this, as a game like Starfield, for better or worse, feels awfully familiar, with predictable open-world elements and progression systems that don’t deviate too much from the likes of Fallout 3 and Skyrim. There are a number of ways Bethesda could address these criticisms of stagnation come The Elder Scrolls 6, but one option is to learn from the series’ vibrant modding scene.
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Previous Elder Scrolls Games Have Received Comprehensive Survival Mods
In an effort to make the games both more realistic and more engaging, ambitious Elder Scrolls modders have released patches for Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, elevating their immersion and deepening their open-world systems. Perhaps the most impressive and smoothly implemented of these mods would be Skyrim: Survival Mode, available on the game’s Creation Club storefront. Survival Mode includes a bevy of major changes to Skyrim‘s core gameplay, including:
- Hunger and fatigue meters
- Temperature penalties and “warmth” ratings for armor
- No fast travel
Such mechanical changes are, in some ways, antithetical to the core Skyrim experience, which is why it’s so surprising that Survival Mode has garnered so much support over the years. But it makes sense: Skyrim‘s world is a fantastical one, but it’s also inherently dangerous, and being forced to keep track of one’s resources and prepare for things like changing climates and diseases makes for a more intense, immersive gaming experience. The mod also lends new weight to features that are rather trivial in the base game, like cooking and food in general. Taking a page out of this playbook could be a great boon for The Elder Scrolls 6.
The Benefits of an Official “Survival Mode” in The Elder Scrolls 6
Bethesda is clearly apprised of the fondness players have for, at the very least, Skyrim‘s survival mod, as evidenced by its inclusion in the Creation Club. But at the end of the day, Survival Mode is just a mod, not developed with the intention of being part of the core experience. With resources, time, and effort dedicated toward making a similar mode an inextricable part of The Elder Scrolls 6, it could be both more accessible to players and more fleshed-out.
An optional survival mode toggle in The Elder Scrolls 6 could open new doors for deep, rewarding exploration and thoughtful gameplay, just like the already-existing Elder Scrolls survival mods. But Bethesda could build upon the concept with new features, like baked-in progression mechanics that improve survivability, and perhaps even nuanced base-building. The sky is the limit with this idea, so it would certainly be worth exploring.
- Released
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2026
- Developer(s)
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Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Bethesda Softworks
- ESRB
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