Todd Howard remains firm in the commitment to develop The Elder Scrolls 6 first before Fallout 5 despite continuing efforts to provide support for Starfield.
The past few months have been hectic for Bethesda and Todd Howard, starting with the big release of Starfield in September. While the studio has pledged to allocate manpower to providing updates for its newest space exploration RPG, the Bethesda executive has also said they’re also focusing on active development for The Elder Scrolls 6.
Howard and some team members had also dabbled in producing a TV show, Prime Video’s live-action adaptation of the Fallout games.
The show, which stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Walton Goggins, enjoyed a critically successful premiere on April 10. This led to four Fallout games hitting the top 10 gaming charts in Europe last week.
It would appear that there is a higher demand for the next Fallout game due to the influx of new players resulting from the TV show’s success. However, in an interview with IGN, Todd Howard said that they are sticking to their established schedule, which puts Elder Scrolls 6 before Fallout 5.
“So obviously, our focus as far as new development right now is Elder Scrolls 6,” the executive emphasized, but also added: “That doesn’t mean that we’re not making plans for other things.”
He explained that the studio is also working on other projects, particularly Fallout 76, which he described as a “very nice apocalypse,” and Starfield. Howard said many really good updates will be announced for Starfield soon.
So, between The Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield, and Fallout 76, there are plenty of resources tied up that Fallout 5 will have to take a backseat to. IGN tried to coax some release dates, but Howard refused to estimate.
“I’m going to avoid putting dates on anything. I’ve learned that the hard way,” he replied.
There will likely be a significant amount of waiting before Fallout 5 is confirmed to be in active development. In the meantime, players can try building Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul character in Fallout 76 or sample the next-gen update for Fallout 4, which will be released this week.