It’s hard to believe, but Skyrim just turned 13. Yeah, 13 years of dragons, shouts, and those unforgettable moments where you stop to admire a sunset in Tamriel—only to get sneak-attacked by a sabre cat. Or maybe you’re one of those players who hears, “Hey, you! You’re finally awake,” and instantly feels at home.
If that doesn’t make you feel a little nostalgic—or maybe even old—I don’t know what will.
This game isn’t just an RPG; it’s practically a way of life at this point.
Sure, Morrowind and Oblivion set the stage, but Skyrim is what really put Bethesda on the map. How much of a big deal? Try over 60 million copies sold. Skyrim raised the bar so high, every RPG since has taken notes from it—open-world exploration, quest diversity, those immersive environments.
Here we are, over a decade later, with Skyrim still hanging out on the Steam charts and pulling in more players than Starfield, Bethesda’s shiny new space epic.
So, what’s Skyrim’s secret? Well, between its massive open world and a modding community that never rests, it’s got the kind of staying power most games can only dream of.
Mods like Enderal, a total conversion mod with its own dark, gritty world, or stunning graphics overhauls that make Tamriel look like a next-gen release keep pulling in both old fans and new players. And honestly, can you really call yourself a Skyrim fan if you haven’t tried the “Macho Man Dragon” mod at least once?
After 13 Years, the Wait for the Next Elder Scrolls Game Feels Like an Eternity
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: where on Nirn is The Elder Scrolls 6? Bethesda teased us in 2018 with the faintest hint of a landscape, just enough to keep us on edge.
We’ve been hearing “pre-production” for a while now, and the latest whispers say it won’t hit shelves until 2026 at the earliest.
Honestly? Don’t be shocked if it gets nudged even further down the line.
For some perspective, Bethesda managed to release Arena, Daggerfall, Redguard, Battlespire, and Oblivion in about 12 years. In comparison, The Elder Scrolls 6 will be nearing a decade in development before we even get our hands on it.
Sure, Sure, game development is way more complex now (goodbye, pixelated dungeons; hello, hyper-realistic dragons), but it’s still a wild difference.
With this much time in the oven, The Elder Scrolls 6 is more than just a new game—it’s a mountain of expectations.
But what’s causing the holdup? A few things, actually. As you already know Bethesda didn’t start building Elder Scrolls 6 after Skyrim. Instead, they rolled out Fallout 4, got to work on Starfield, and revamped the Creation Engine 2—a major time-sink that no doubt added years to the process. And unlike some other studios, Bethesda’s not keen on outsourcing or splitting up their core teams.
They’ve opted for a focused approach, which keeps their projects slower but (hopefully) packed with that Bethesda polish we’ve all come to expect.
For now, we’ll just have to keep speculating. Will TES6 take us to Hammerfell? Black Marsh? Imagine all the new quests, landscapes, and lore we’ll be diving into.
Until then, though, we’ve got Skyrim—the game that unlike any other video game feels practically eternal.
