The wait for *The Elder Scrolls VI* is agonizing, mirroring the anticipation surrounding *Grand Theft Auto VI*. With precious little official news, it's no surprise the community is indulging in release date speculation, fueled only by a recent character creation competition.
Bethesda's latest Make-A-Wish project offers a unique opportunity: a winner gets to collaborate with Bethesda Game Studios to design an NPC for *The Elder Scrolls VI*. Bethesda stated, “For the last several years, we have been lucky enough to work with Make-A-Wish to grant wishes... This year, for their Silent Auction we are giving one winner the opportunity to work with Bethesda Game Studios to create a character to appear as an NPC in The Elder Scrolls 6. All of the money made from the auction goes directly to Make-A-Wish.”
While a noble cause, this initiative has sparked fervent speculation among fans. Comparisons are being drawn to a similar Make-A-Wish project for *Starfield*. Reddit user 'FartingSlowly' noted that Bethesda's *Starfield* character creation campaign launched roughly two and a half years before the game's September 2023 release. This has led to a prediction of a September 27, 2027 release for *The Elder Scrolls VI*.
"This is not a good indicator or metric for release by any standards," FartingSlowly conceded. "Do not take this too seriously. But. It is finally something. It isn't just a piece of junk speculation based on nothing, it's based on something from Bethesda themselves. Yeah, it's not something to actually care about but it is a refreshing change in the world of speculation."
However, this prediction isn't universally accepted. Some point out that *Starfield's* Make-A-Wish campaign coincided with its originally planned November 11, 2022 release date, suggesting a potential November 2026 launch for *The Elder Scrolls VI* instead.
AnswerSee ResultsThe announcement of The Elder Scrolls VI in June 2018 feels like a lifetime ago. In fact, it's now been as long since the announcement as Skyrim existed before the announcement of its sequel. Bethesda confirmed the game was in "early development" in August 2023, with "early builds" surfacing in March 2024. Even Bethesda's Todd Howard acknowledged the lengthy wait.
Early predictions suggested a 2028 release at the earliest, possibly coinciding with the next generation of consoles. A launch then would place it an incredible 17 years after *Skyrim*. Until then, you can find out more by checking out Everything we know about The Elder Scrolls 6.