Bethesda’s Todd Howard hints Elder Scrolls 6 could be his final game as boss

Bethesda Game Director, Executive Producer, and overall industry icon Todd Howard has hinted that he may be finishing up with the studio after Elder Scrolls 6 is released out into the wild.

When it comes to big open-world role-playing games, many think of the likes of the Elder Scrolls franchise and the Fallout series. Both of which have come from the creative minds of Bethesda.

As well as this, the gaming developer has a brand new IP on the way in Starfield, with the 2023 release set to be the biggest Xbox exclusive since the Xbox Series S & X launched. However, for Bethesda boss Todd Howard, his time with the company managing all the new content may be drawing to an end, though perhaps not for the reasons you think.

When speaking with IGN, Howard broke down what the future of Bethesda will look like and what fans can expect in regard to the timeline of new releases following Starfield. While no exact dates were revealed, Howard did explain that Elder Scrolls 6 will likely be the next big title, followed by Fallout 5.

Bethesda Game Studios

Bethesda has created some of the biggest gaming franchises including The Elder Scrolls

Following these comments, he did tease that when Elder Scrolls 6 drops, he might be taking a step back from Bethesda and moving on from the company he has been leading for many years now.

“So our ability, like we talked about, to support Starfield… Whereas maybe in the old days, you would put it out and then you’d go on to a sequel, now we can support that game for a much longer period of time, which is what our plan is.

“And then as we look to an Elder Scrolls 6, that is one where… I probably shouldn’t say this. But if I do the math, I’m not getting any younger. How long do people play Elder Scrolls for? That may be the last one I do. I don’t know.”

Given that Elder Scrolls is a game that players spend months and months playing, with Bethesda then supporting it for years on end with new content and updates, odds are Howard will still be sticking around for quite some time before calling it quits with Bethesda. 

But in terms fo full-fledged game launches, given the scale in this generation, and the years of development required to get them off the ground, he implied it could be his final steering the ship.

Want more news and details from the recent Xbox Showcase? Check out Dexerto’s full coverage on the recent gaming event here.