Bethesda Game Studios has officially revealed that The Elder Scrolls VI will be called The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel.
The announcement was made as part of a video celebrating the 40th anniversary of Bethesda Game Studios. Studio director Todd Howard introduced the reveal towards the end of the video, which featured a short teaser showcasing the game’s title and logo.
While the teaser never fully states it, it suggest beyond reasonable doubt that the game will be set in the region of Hammerfell. A desert landscape that’s the complete opposite of the snowy peaks of Skyrim.
The teaser includes an image of a scroll emerging from the sand, followed by a passage attributed to Yazar, Moth Priest to High Queen Iradne of Hammerfell, dated 4E 206. As Skyrim was set in the year 4E 201, this could mean the game’s events take place five years after it. Or this could simply be when the Elder Scroll was written, then unearthed an undisclosed period of time later.
Hammerfell is the homeland of the Redguards and has previously appeared in entries across The Elder Scrolls franchise. The region was also featured in The Elder Scrolls Online and The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard.
The region was rumored to be seceding from the Empire of Tamriel in Skyrim, opposed to it’s villainous overlords, the Aldmeri Dominion. So expect civil war and political unrest in the land of Hammerfell, and for the location of Sentinel to be crucial to the story.
Bethesda has not announced a release date, gameplay details or confirmed platforms yet. The studio stated that development is continuing and that further information will be shared at a later date.
The game was originally announced in June 2018, when Bethesda released a brief teaser confirming its development. This news also follows hot on the heels of the Asha Sharma’s shake-up of Xbox, when the studio revealed they’d be focusing on key franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout going forward.
The reveal could also be a strategic move by Bethesda to remind players that there is plenty to look forward to beyond the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI. With Rockstar’s upcoming juggernaut expected to dominate the gaming conversation, this month and beyond, Bethesda may be keen to reassert The Elder Scrolls as one of the industry’s biggest tentpole franchises ahead of its competitor’s release.
Even without a release date or gameplay footage, putting Sentinel back in the spotlight gives players another major RPG to look forward to once the initial excitement surrounding GTA VI begins to wane. In an increasingly competitive release calendar, Bethesda is making sure that The Elder Scrolls remains firmly on players’ radar, and that players know there is life after GTA VI.