Bethesda should be focusing on Fallout over The Elder Scrolls 6

With the acquisition of Bethesda by Microsoft back in 2021, my hope was that the developer would get a hefty cash injection in order to split their team in two and spread focus across several titles. Bethesda has usually focused on one game at a time. It was Fallout 4, then Starfield, and now the team is beavering away on The Elder Scrolls 6. However, the external publicity around Bethesda’s series’ are pushing the narrative in one direction, and it’s not leading us to Tamriel.

This is where I wish the developer was able, or willing, to work on more than one large-scale game at a time, because I’d argue that, at the moment, Fallout is the powerhouse property and outside of Fallout 76, Bethesda is missing out on momentum.

I want to make this perfectly and abundantly clear, I love both of Bethesda’s mainline franchises. I am, of course, talking about Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. While I acknowledge that Starfield has entered the chat, it’s still a one-off and not a franchise that is adored, with legions of fans who have been around for decades.

It’s also worth noting that I’m aware these games take many years to develop, especially when they’re the size of RPGs that Bethesda likes to create. However, the forward planning for the Fallout TV show, which was watched by millions and caused a huge surge in players for Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, could have been supported by a secondary team working on either Fallout 5, or another spin-off in the vein of Fallout: New Vegas.

Bethesda Softworks

As far as we’re aware, and from what Todd Howard has mentioned in the past, Fallout 5 is next on deck after The Elder Scrolls 6 which is nowhere near close to release. I’d say I’m not far wrong in saying the Amazon Fallout TV show will have at least two more seasons under its belt before the next instalment of the game, maybe more, and while it’s great to see Fallout 76 finally gain an audience, it’s pretty clear from social media and message boards that the fans want a single player game.

Now, I’m not going to level the crosshairs at Bethesda here. If anything, it’s Microsoft who should be working with the developer to expand the team further to urge production. Of course, you could argue that nobody would play another Fallout if it released so close to The Elder Scrolls 6, but that game is still a way off too. And it’s not that game world that’s wagging tongues across the internet and for more casual audiences.

If it was a dramatisation of Skyrim, then it would be safe to say that there would be even more excitement for Bethesda’s next game. And there’s no doubt in my mind that when the next title in the Elder Scrolls series comes out it’s going to blow our minds, and we’ll possibly even forget that Fallout exists. However, my concern is that Bethesda and Microsoft are missing out on new and returning players who would do anything for something fresh while the iron is hot.

Bethesda Softworks

Such is the issue with timescales in gaming, when one thing is popular, it takes several years for others to catch up. We’ve seen it with genres like the Battle Royale, and mechanics like live-service, where developers and publishers get to them a bit too late to capitalise and miss out on both delivery of great games and revenue from players.

Not that I’m saying these fans begging for Fallout 5 will suddenly not care when the game edges closer, but would the uptake be a little more fervent and a bit more widespread if it were to land while the world is still talking about the franchise? Is there any pivoting happening at Bethesda? Are they going to perhaps enter preproduction a little earlier for Fallout 5?

While I hate to compare, you only need to look at another powerhouse RPG developer to see this planning in action - CD Projekt Red.

The Polish developer has two huge RPGs under its belt in The Witcher and Cyberpunk, they’re working actively on both games as each is popular in their own right but are also supported by TV shows, anime, books, and comics. While you could argue that we won’t see The Witcher 4 while the popularity of the Netflix show is current, at least they’re working on both of their major properties to bring the releases closer together.

However, all these words and all this arguing comes down to one thing - it takes ages to create and release a brilliant game. And trends can’t be predicted even when plans have been in motion for some time. Nobody knew that the Fallout show would capture so many eyes and hearts, for all Bethesda knew, it could have ended up like the Borderlands movie did. I’m just a boy who wants all the games all at once.