New Elder Scrolls Game Is Coming, But It's Not The One You Want

The Elder Scrolls series is actually getting a new game in the near future, but it doesn’t look like it will have much of anything to do with the hotly anticipated The Elder Scrolls 6. The last mainline entry in the franchise was 2011’s The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, which has essentially become the face of the series since, with an incredibly active modding community and regular ports to new platforms that have generated many jokes and even more sales. The Elder Scrolls 6 was teased with a short trailer in 2018, but there’s still no sign of anything more.

That being said, the franchise hasn’t been completely quiet in that interim, with a number of spinoff titles releasing outside of the numbered series. The most significant of these is The Elder Scrolls Online, a 2014 MMO that’s still receiving active support, but it isn’t the only one. The Elder Scrolls: Legends was released as a digital collectible card game, and TES: Blades streamlined the first-person action RPG experience into a simplified mobile format. These games might not represent what fans love most about the series, but it’s clear that Bethesda’s interest in the IP goes beyond the expansive mainline entries.

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Announced on the official Bethesda Game Studios Twitter account, The Elder Scrolls: Castles focuses on building and managing a medieval society within the walls of an ever-expanding fortress. If the format sounds familiar, it’s because it’s being developed by the team behind Fallout Shelter, which took a similar approach to the Wasteland. The app is available for pre-registration on the App Store and Google Play and is currently testing in the Philippines, with expansion to more regions planned “within the coming months.”

One thing that looks different about The Elder Scrolls: Castles is a focus on a dynasty of rulers that appears to play a more central role than the vaguely impersonal role of the overseer in Fallout Shelter. A screenshot showing some kingly decision-making is more reminiscent of the popular mobile game Reigns, which centers its gameplay around a continuous succession of simple cards to swipe. In The Elder Scrolls: Castles, a ruler’s personal traits have an impact on everyone in the kingdom, so procuring the right heir can also be important for the efficacy of the overall affair.

The Elder Scrolls: Castles spent some time in a closed beta in 2023, so the soft launch that it’s undergoing now isn’t its first time in the hands of players. Considering the overall positive reception of Fallout Shelter compared to something like The Elder Scrolls: Blades, it could prove to be a popular diversion for fans of the franchise. At the end of the day, however, it’s hard to view it as much more than a minor distraction during the wait for The Elder Scrolls 6, and there’s still no telling when that could actually arrive.

Source: Bethesda Game Studios/Twitter

The Elder Scrolls

Developer(s)

Bethesda Game Studios

Publisher(s)

Bethesda Softworks