The Elder Scrolls 6 release date 'cemented' in next-gen Xbox leak

Fans desperate for any news related to Bethesda’s upcoming game The Elder Scrolls VI think they’ve finally found a clue that points to its release date, and it’s entirely based on a leak regarding some new Xbox hardware.

Windows Central’s Jez Corden has revealed that the next bit of Xbox hardware should be dropping sometime in 2027, as stated last week on The Xbox Two Podcast, which has led some Bethesda fans to believe that The Elder Scrolls VI will launch at the same time.

"If the info about Call of Duty is accurate [about it launching on the next gen Xbox in 2026], there is no devkit right now. So like the idea that developers have already gotten the next-gen Xbox's dev kit… that's just not accurate,” Corden revealed.

"I mean the whole idea of the next Xbox is that it's gonna be a PC in essence but with a TV friendly shell that also has a specific set of specs in mind, so developers will be building for Windows PC in a way but in such a way that they know exactly what the specs will be… But I'm pretty sure new hardware is not 2026, it's 2027."

As a result of this new info, players over on the r/TESVI subreddit believe that this “almost certainly cements a 2027 TES: VI release.”

“If this is the case, I hope it's an Xbox/PC exclusive so that BGS is no longer constrained to console hardware. It could be an encouraging sign for TES6,” commented user blue_sock1337.

“I guess ES6 will end up being a cross gen game after all,” replied user culdrum.

“I’m definitely predicting it as a launch title.”

I do get where they’re coming from with this theory, as Microsoft obviously owns Bethesda so they’d want the next Elder Scrolls title to be developed for Xbox hardware, but there’s one problem with this line of thought.

There’s no reason why Bethesda couldn’t release their next game on both current-gen systems and next-gen systems. In fact, it would probably be more profitable for them to do exactly that.

If they release The Elder Scrolls VI on current generation hardware first, prior to the next generation of Xbox hardware’s release, this would mean that some people might buy the game twice. Plus, it would also mean that those who don’t want to or can’t purchase a next-gen system would still be able to buy it.

Personally I’m gonna file this theory under the “baseless” category, but we’ll know for sure once we hear more info regarding Microsoft’s next console.