Bethesda names next game The Elder Scrolls VI Sentinel

Mixed · 2Bethesda confirmed on 3 November that the next Elder Scrolls game will be called The Elder Scrolls VI Sentinel. 1 2 Left · 1According to The Verge, the confirmation came in a video of under 10 minutes celebrating 40 years of Bethesda game studios, and studio chief Todd Howard called it the "perfect time" to name the game. 1 Centre · 1Screen Rant describes the reveal differently: an image on the official Xbox website, titled "The Elder Scrolls VI Official name reveal", which it calls a new teaser. 2

Mixed · 2Radio Times describes the reveal as a trailer of about a minute showing sand physics before the title, followed by a quote from Yazar, Moth Priest of High Queen Iradne of Hammerfell, which it says confirms the location; Variety says the name came with a logo reveal in a video message from Todd Howard for Bethesda's 40th anniversary. 3 4 Left · 1The game was first officially announced more than eight years ago, and little has been revealed about it since; Bethesda is sharing no further details alongside the name. 1 Mixed · 2The Verge says the game will be set in Hammerfell, a province seen in The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard and The Elder Scrolls Online. Screen Rant notes that Sentinel is a city in Hammerfell on the continent of Tamriel and calls it a "fairly safe assumption" that it will be the main location, adding that it is yet to be seen whether the map extends into neighbouring regions. 1 2

Centre · 1In a reply on X quoted by Radio Times, Bethesda said development continues and that "it’ll be some time before we’re ready to share more", while it was "great to finally reveal the name and location"; Radio Times says the release window remains unconfirmed. 3 Left · 1Variety adds that Hammerfell lies west of Cyrodiil (the setting of Oblivion) and southwest of Skyrim, that the game was announced at E3 2018 and entered active production in 2023 after Starfield, and that Howard said in 2021 he expected a release 15-17 years after Skyrim (2011), which could leave fans a few years away from playing it. 4 Mixed · 2The Verge's reporter says they reported the previous week that Bethesda planned to name the game in November, around 15 years after Skyrim's release; Screen Rant says the name matches rumours it had heard. The Verge's article is marked as still developing. 1 2

Left · 1The A.V. Club, which calls the reveal a teaser, says the video message from Todd Howard marked Bethesda's fortieth anniversary as a developer, and quotes him: "Everybody's always asking about Elder Scrolls VI, and we thought, hey, given the moment, what a perfect time to tell you what The Elder Scrolls VI is actually called." 5 Mixed · 2The A.V. Club and Den of Geek both report that the teaser's Yazar quote is dated 4E 206, which they say would place the game about five years after Skyrim (4E 201); the A.V. Club spells the Moth Priest's province "Hammerfall", and Den of Geek describes Moth Priests as the scholars who read the Elder Scrolls artifacts. 5 6 Centre · 3Outlets differ on what Sentinel is: Den of Geek calls it a major Hammerfell city and capital of the Alik'r Desert region, Screen Rant calls it the capital of Hammerfell, and the A.V. Club describes it as a northwestern coastal region of Tamriel. 6 7 5

Centre · 2Screen Rant, citing Push Square, says journalist Jason Schreier posted on Bluesky that the game is "still more than 2 years away", which Screen Rant reads as a release after 2028; Den of Geek says a 2028 or 2029 release is a hopeful estimate and that Bethesda has offered no date or window. 7 6 Centre · 1Den of Geek, in a 10 November explainer on the long wait, says development began in earnest only in 2023, that Starfield jumped ahead of Elder Scrolls in Bethesda's usual alternation with Fallout, and that Kurt Kuhlmann, a Skyrim co-lead, left the studio in 2023. 6 Centre · 1Den of Geek says that this summer's Xbox layoffs hit Bethesda, with staff telling IGN that more than 50 employees were cut and developers warning of "substantial and cascading effects"; Bethesda says the Elder Scrolls 6 roadmap is "unaffected" and that the game is a primary focus with most staff working on it. 6

Mixed · 2The A.V. Club places the reveal amid turmoil at Xbox and the run-up to Grand Theft Auto VI, noting IGN's earlier reporting of whispers that Bethesda was not developing the game with Sony in mind and that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been coy about whether it will be an Xbox exclusive; Screen Rant adds that The Elder Scrolls Online is boosting XP in the Alik'r Desert to mark the announcement. 5 7