As Summer Game Fest 2022 came to an end just recently, IGN had the chance to interview Todd Howard shortly after the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase took place this Sunday, June 12, 2022. During this chat, our colleagues were able to discover some crisp information, in particular about upcoming projects for Bethesda.
Very long-term plans for Bethesda
According to the latest information available to us, Bethesda would therefore have so-called “AAA” projects for many years to come. The studio behind multiple successful franchises is indeed far from having said its last word, and if Starfield, the "space Skyrim" scheduled for 2023, is fast approaching, it goes without saying that it will not is not the last game of its kind to which we should be entitled in the medium term.
Starfield is arguably Bethesda's biggest near-term project right now. Very ambitious, it could allow the studio mainly known for The Elder Scrolls and Fallout to establish its position a little more in the field of open-world RPGs, but also to carve out a place for itself in the science fiction genre than it does has so far little explored outside of Fallout.
And this is precisely where the studio seems to be aiming: its flagship franchises. As Starfield explores a whole new universe filled with brand new characters and worlds, Todd Howard and his team haven't forgotten where they come from and the franchises that made them who they are today.
Thus, during the last IGN interview to date with the executive producer of the two main studio sagas, we discovered that the sixth opus of The Elder Scolls would have entered the pre-production phase. What this means concretely is that the first real internal tests concerning this new opus are already taking place in order to test the feasibility of the ambitions of the developers about it, but also its cost both financially and in terms of working time. .
Unveiled during E3 2018, the very first trailer for The Elder Scrolls VI had delighted a large number of fans who were eagerly hoping to be able to dive once again in Tamriel. Only here, the file had been quickly closed and little information about him had been revealed. Knowing that the game is progressing is a great thing, and we should learn more in the coming months, especially after the release of Starfield scheduled for 2023 (unspecified). It will still be necessary to wait until 2024, or even 2025 to hope to be able to play it on our favorite machines, and it is quite far for a game unveiled in 2018, frustrating even for some!
And yet, that's far from everything for Bethesda. Todd Howard also revealed to IGN that the sequel to the Fallout saga was also in the works. Naturally, nobody knows anything about it at the moment and it's even very early to talk about it seriously, but it would be a priori indeed a long-term project! Its release and even part of its development would, according to the executive producer, not be planned before the deployment of The Elder Scrolls IV.
Suffice to say that we are far, very far from having the slightest micro-information to put in our mouths for the moment. What seems certain is that its release will not take place at least before 2025, and yet we are aiming short! But Fallout has therefore not breathed its last, and if Fallout 76 will have largely disappointed many players, it's a safe bet that this admittedly meager information could give hope to lovers of their favorite post-apocalyptic game!
Pay to win or free to play, everyone is free to progress at their own pace in their adventure. The trouble begins when, via the game's pvp mode, the two types of players can come face to face on the battlefield. Honorable fights then turn into bloodbaths...
