It seems as if this question keeps needing to be answered, but Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has finally all but confirmed that Bethesda’sThe Elder Scrolls 6will indeed remain exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem, cutting its hopes for release on PlayStation or Nintendo Switch.
During an interview with British GQ, Spencer claimed thatThe Elder Scrolls 6exclusivity will be similar to Bethesda’s other long-awaited RPG,Starfield.Starfieldwas shown off earlier in the year and definitively stated to be coming only to Xbox consoles and PC. Spencer went on to explain that he believes that he genuinely does not want this to be about punishing other platforms, and that he sees all consoles continuing to grow and flourish in the coming years. He says, “…in order to be on Xbox, I want us to be able to bring the full complete package of what we have. And that would be true when I think aboutElder Scrolls 6. That would be true when I think about any of our franchises.”
RELATED:Todd Howard Teases How Elder Scrolls 6 Will Improve on Skyrim
Todd Howard also made a comment aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6,saying that the game is still deep in the trenches of development, and that the team’s ultimate goal is the same as it has been sinceThe Elder Scrolls 4: OblivionandThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Howard says that as people change and technology changes, the vision to transport people to these engaging worlds and fully immerse the player stays the same. WithThe Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda wants to keep the bones ofThe Elder Scrollsbut expand on player immersionlike the franchise never has before.
Considering that Microsoft did indeed purchase Bethesda earlier this year, this should come as no surprise, especially withXbox’s earlier announcement of Starfield’s exclusivity at E3. Still, it is likely that the millions of fans that have been holding out hope thatThe Elder Scrolls 6might appear on a Sony or Nintendo platform, will be sorely disappointed and maybe a bit betrayed by Bethesda. However, the games industry is a business, and this is a perfect way to getElder Scrollsfans into the Xbox ecosystem in some way. Whether it be through a traditional Xbox console, PC, or even Xbox Game Pass on mobile, Microsoft is doubling down on its mission to bring these franchises to gamers as best it can without outright selling the games on competing platforms.
The Elder Scrolls 6is likely many years away, especially since Howard just recently revealed thatmakingStarfieldwas a now-or-never prospect, so it will be some time before we see howThe Elder Scrolls 6’s exclusivity does for Microsoft and Xbox.
