00:00Recently there has been a talk about Xbox restructuring, and this particular news is
00:05definitely going to be interesting for Elder Scrolls 6 fans, because Elder Scrolls 6 is
00:10apparently at least two years away. And I think the report is believable, but the bigger story
00:17isn't that Elder Scrolls 6 is still years away, it's what that says about the current state of
00:22AAA game development, and essentially Microsoft's strategy. But this is how I see it. A 2028 release
00:29wouldn't surprise me. And if our boy Jason Schreier says it's at least two or more years away,
00:35I would take that seriously. The man has built one of the strongest track records in the gaming
00:39industry for accurately reporting development timelines. Love him or hate him, he has been
00:45really reliable in the past. So a late 2028 release would mean roughly a decade of active development
00:52after the game's announcement in 2018. But it's worth remembering that Bethesda wasn't actually
00:58making the Elder Scrolls 6 immediately after that reveal. The studio still had to finish Starfield,
01:04and only shifted its full intention afterwards. So while the announcement trailer is 8 years old,
01:10full production hasn't been running for all of those 8 years. And that's a really important point
01:16to make, because I would be very fucking worried if I knew that the Elder Scrolls 6 has been in
01:23active
01:23development for 10 years. And if that was the case, I would definitely expect something groundbreaking
01:30when the game finally comes out. However, one point I need to raise, and it's very important.
01:36And that's basically that the 2018 announcement is a very bad example of why publishers announce
01:42games too early. You could say that Bethesda revealed the Elder Scrolls 6 largely to reassure fans
01:48after announcing Fallout 76. And additionally, Todd Howard even said they wanted people to know it
01:55existed. And now you might ask yourself, why was that a bad idea? Well, the problem is that 8 years
02:01later we've seen one cinematic teaser, virtually no gameplay, no release window, and almost no concrete
02:09details. And let me tell you, that creates expectations no developer can realistically satisfy
02:15over such a long period. And rightfully so. I mean, people will expect all kinds of stuff.
02:21Hell, even I expect it. And I'm fully aware that the game wasn't in development for 8 years.
02:26But some of the people will think that. And that's the biggest issue here.
02:30Also, when you think about it with all this Xbox stuff, I think Xbox needs this game more than
02:36Bethesda does. If you read through the article, you can see the following. Microsoft has closed studios,
02:41canceled projects, laid off thousands of employees, and struggled to consistently produce blockbuster
02:47exclusives. And if the reports about doubling down on flagship franchises are accurate, then the Elder
02:53Scrolls 6 becomes more than just another RPG for Microsoft. It becomes one of the pillars of Xbox
02:59Future. And that's creating enormous pressure. Not only does the game need to review well,
03:05but also, it probably needs to sell tens of millions of copies, drive Game Pass subscriptions,
03:11restore confidence in Xbox's first-party lineup, and justify Microsoft's enormous investment in
03:18Bethesda. And I don't know if Bethesda can deliver, but that's a lot to ask of one game.
03:23And speaking about Bethesda delivering, this is actually the part that worries me the most.
03:29We all know Skyrim is one of the most influential RPGs ever made. But since then,
03:33Bethesda's track record has been mixed. And that's me being generous, by the way.
03:38First, you have Fallout 4. It divided RPG fans because of its simplified dialogue and role-playing
03:43systems. Then you have Fallout 76, which launched in a disastrous state before improving significantly
03:50over time. And finally, Starfield. Yes, it reviewed well, but then again, we are talking about
03:57mainstream reviewers here. But more importantly, it generated a surprisingly polarized response.
04:03Some players loved it, while many, me included, criticized its exploration, procedural content,
04:09and outdated design philosophy. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the fiasco with paid DLCs and mods.
04:16So when you think about it, The Elder Scrolls 6 isn't launching after another Skyrim.
04:20It's pretty much launching after years of people questioning whether Bethesda's formula has evolved
04:26enough. And that brings me to another point, which is that the expectations for this game are almost
04:31impossible to meet. Well, impossible is a bit too harsh of a word. I would say it is achievable,
04:38but only if you know what you're doing. You see, when Skyrim launched in 2011,
04:43open-world RPGs looked very differently, and there was little direct competition.
04:47Not to mention, players' expectations were lower. However, today, Bethesda is competing in a world
04:54shaped by games like The Witcher 3, Wild Hunt, Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate 3, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2,
05:00and many others that have redefined the open RPG genre significantly. So normally,
05:07players now expect several things. First and foremost, you have reactive worlds,
05:11then meaningful choices, then sophisticated NPC behavior, then you have modern combat,
05:16excellent storytelling, and finally, technical polish. So if you want to be just another Bethesda RPG,
05:22well, that may no longer be enough. Thing is, if you're listening to my babbling,
05:27you might say that I'm very pessimistic about the whole situation. And I would say rightfully so,
05:32especially when I saw what Bethesda has been delivering for the past 10 years.
05:37You might argue that they know exactly how important this game is, and since they are not
05:42rushing it after what happened with Fallout 76, there might be a chance that it might actually work.
05:49Also, if Xbox is truly betting heavily on its major franchise, Microsoft has every incentive to give
05:56Bethesda the time and resources needed to get The Elder Scrolls 6 right. So a delayed Elder Scrolls
06:01is far less damaging than another disappointing launch. Ultimately, I would say that my biggest
06:07concern about this whole situation isn't the release date, it's whether Bethesda has fundamentally
06:12evolved its game design. If The Elder Scrolls 6 feels like Skyrim with prettier graphics,
06:17I don't think the reaction is going to be positive at all. However, if it modernizes exploration,
06:23RPG systems, NPC simulation, and all that stuff that I mentioned previously, while giving us the
06:29player freedom that we experienced in Skyrim, there is still a spark of hope that the game has
06:35potential to be pretty damn good. So to conclude, after waiting well over a decade since Skyrim,
06:42I don't think people are simply looking for more Elder Scrolls. They are expecting Bethesda to show
06:48that it can still set a standard for open world RPGs rather than follow it. Can they do it? Well,
06:54only time will tell. And that's basically my take on this news. Thanks very much for watching,
07:00and as always, like, share, subscribe, comment, all that good stuff. And that's it from me, until the next one.
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