Elder Scrolls 6 Fans Use Character Creation Contest to Guess Release Date

Fans of The Elder Scrolls 6, much like those eagerly awaiting Grand Theft Auto 6, find themselves in a desert of information. With only a recent official character creation competition to spark their interest, it's no wonder the community has plunged into a frenzy of release date speculation.

This week, Bethesda unveiled their latest collaboration with Make-A-Wish, announcing a unique auction where the winner gets to work alongside Bethesda Game Studios to design an NPC for The Elder Scrolls 6. "For the last several years, we have been fortunate to partner with Make-A-Wish to fulfill wishes, support local events, and offer various items and experiences to aid children battling life-threatening diseases," Bethesda shared.

"This year, for their Silent Auction, we're offering one lucky winner the chance to create a character that will appear as an NPC in The Elder Scrolls 6. All proceeds from the auction will directly support Make-A-Wish."

While this is a noble effort and a fantastic initiative by Bethesda, for fans of The Elder Scrolls 6, it's ignited a firestorm of speculation. The community has begun drawing parallels to a similar Make-A-Wish project Bethesda ran for Starfield, attempting to gauge where The Elder Scrolls 6 might be in its development cycle and, more tantalizingly, its potential release date.

Yes, the community might be diving a bit too deep into the speculative pool, but let's entertain the idea for a moment... in the name of curiosity.

A Reddit user aptly named 'FartingSlowly' noted that Bethesda's announcement of a chance to create a Starfield character came two-and-a-half years before Starfield's release in September 2023. Therefore, by this logic, The Elder Scrolls 6 could be eyeing a release date of September 27, 2027.

"This isn't a reliable metric for predicting a release date by any means," FartingSlowly conceded. "Don't take it too seriously. But, it's something tangible from Bethesda, not just baseless speculation. It's a refreshing twist in the world of guessing games."

As expected, many in the community have echoed doubts about the speculated release date. Some pointed out that Starfield's Make-A-Wish competition was announced when the game was initially set to launch on November 11, 2022, leading to speculation that The Elder Scrolls 6 might target a November 2026 release.

It's been an eternity since Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls 6. In January, the June 10, 2018 announcement reached the same age as Skyrim was at the time of The Elder Scrolls 6's reveal.

The studio confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 had entered "early development" in August 2023, and "early builds" were accessible in March 2024. Last June marked the sixth anniversary of the announcement, prompting even Bethesda development chief Todd Howard to remark, "oh wow, that has been a while."

The earliest speculated release for The Elder Scrolls 6 is 2028, likely on next-generation consoles and PC. If it launches then, it would mark an astonishing 17 years since Skyrim's release. As we await more concrete news, explore Everything we know about The Elder Scrolls 6.