Starfield is Bethesda’s newest IP, which joined the likes of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. Joining the ranks of such massive franchises meant that there were a lot of expectations placed on Starfield on release, especially as it had a long development cycle that included significant delays – something that The Elder Scrolls 6 is also going through. While Starfield does offer a completely different world from The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, with a space exploration setting, some players felt it didn’t live up to Bethesda’s promises or the hype.
The Elder Scrolls is one of Bethesda’s strongest franchises, with Skyrim one of the bestselling games of all time. The Elder Scrolls 6 is next in Bethesda’s lineup, and fans have been waiting for news about it for close to a decade now. With Starfield‘s missteps, some players feel pessimistic about The Elder Scrolls 6‘s prospects, but if Bethesda learns from its mistakes with Starfield‘s development, and takes its time before diving into a full reveal for The Elder Scrolls 6, it may avoid Starfield‘s biggest mistakes.
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The Elder Scrolls 6 is next in Bethesda’s line-up of releases, and many fans of the series are hoping that it’s more likely to avoid the same pitfalls that befell Starfield. As an established IP with a strong foundation, The Elder Scrolls 6 thus far hasn’t gone through the same reboots in its development that Starfield experienced, and should hopefully see a better development cycle and, ultimately, a more polished finished product than Starfield that meets player expectations.
Bethesda has also already been through the growing pains of developing Starfield, and has hopefully learned from the experience to apply those learnings to The Elder Scrolls 6. As the studio shifts its attention to The Elder Scrolls 6, the full reveal and release date for the next game in The Elder Scrolls shouldn’t be revealed until Bethesda is entirely confident that the game it’s produced at the very least meets player expectations, especially as it’s been in development for so long.
One of the current trends in the AAA gaming industry is announcing a full reveal of a new launch just a few months before its release date. This ensures that all its components are in place, and lessens the chances of the developer making promises it can’t keep, such as game features or game mechanics not making it to the final product of the game. Game content often gets cut during video game development, and revealing information too early can result in miscommunication with players, who come to expect a different game than the one that gets delivered.
Instead of revealing The Elder Scrolls 6 too early in a bid to placate fans who have been waiting since 2011 for the next game in The Elder Scrolls, Bethesda needs to ensure the development for The Elder Scrolls is on the right track to create the game that players expect. That may realistically mean holding off officially announcing The Elder Scrolls 6‘s announcement for a while yet. However, if it means that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be a game that meets player expectations, it’ll be worth the patience and waiting over a decade for news on one of the most beloved video game franchises.
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