Why Elder Scrolls Fans Have Their Eye On The PlayStation Website
On a recent post to the official PlayStation blog, visitors were asked to vote for the best games of the year across a number of categories, like "Best Graphical Showcase" or "Best Sports Game." Among these was a poll for "Most Anticipated Game," in which voters were tasked with choosing, from a number of upcoming titles, the option to which they were most looking forward. While most choices, like Elden Ring and Resident Evil Village, could be considered fairly predictable, one game listed in this category was anything but: The Elder Scrolls 6.
For starters, Elders Scrolls developer Bethesda has yet to detail virtually anything about the sixth entry in its flagship franchise, save for a short teaser released in 2018. While on one hand, this might indicate that new details about The Elder Scrolls 6 are imminent, Bethesda has stated its intent to first release Starfield, a single player sci-fi RPG. After that, members of the Starfield team are expected to work on The Elder Scrolls 6, shifting the company's priority fully to The Elder Scrolls. Since Starfield has yet to even receive a proper trailer, it's safe to assume the completion of a new Elder Scrolls is a long ways away.
However, the inclusion of The Elder Scrolls 6 in this otherwise innocent poll is even more noteworthy in the wake of Microsoft's high-profile acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda. Exactly what the acquisition means for future Bethesda releases hasn't yet been specified or possibly even determined, beyond Xbox CFO Tim Stuart promising that Bethesda games will be "first or better or best or pick your differentiated experience" on Xbox platforms.
In fact, both Stuart and Bethesda director Todd Howard have been careful to not quite confirm the possibility of future Bethesda titles, and in particular The Elder Scrolls 6, appearing on platforms other than Xbox. Notably absent from Stuart's list of Xbox advantages is "exclusive," which would seem to indicate that future Bethesda releases like The Elder Scrolls 6 will be on multiple platforms, in spite of Microsoft's ownership.
That said, given the lack of outright confirmation, The Elder Scrolls 6's appearance in PlayStation's poll — which notably left out upcoming titles that are known to be major Xbox exclusives, like the highly-anticipated Halo Infinite — is now the foremost indication that The Elder Scrolls 6 will ultimately be playable on PlayStation consoles upon its release.