HYPETRACKER
EN ES FR DE
Controversy · comment analysis

Will Elder Scrolls 6 live up to expectations after Fallout 76 and Starfield?

What YouTube comments really reveal about the doubts surrounding The Elder Scrolls VI, backed by numbers.

Updated: 13/07/2026
Skepticism dominates: roughly 70% of comments doubt Bethesda's ability to deliver a polished Elder Scrolls VI after the letdowns of Fallout 76 and Starfield. This doubt accounts for about 15% of all discussion around the game, tracked since its 2018 announcement.

The context

Announced on June 10, 2018 at Bethesda's E3 conference, The Elder Scrolls VI was revealed by Todd Howard through a brief teaser, which confirmed its release would follow Fallout 76, then in development, and an upcoming project that would later become Starfield.

Fallout 76 launched on November 14, 2018 amid widespread technical problems. Starfield, released on September 6, 2023, later faced a mixed reception on Steam, becoming Bethesda's lowest-rated game on the platform, even trailing behind Fallout 76 in negative player reviews.

According to Todd Howard, The Elder Scrolls VI entered active production in August 2023 following the completion of Starfield. In June 2026, he told Entertainment Weekly that "the majority of the studio" was now working on the game, while acknowledging the team needed to "get it right" after such a long wait since the announcement.

In July 2026, more than 50 Bethesda Game Studios employees lost their jobs as part of wider Xbox layoffs. Several staff members, quoted by gaming outlets, said they feared a "cascading" effect on The Elder Scrolls VI's development, for which no release date has been announced to date.

Sources: The Elder Scrolls VI · On The Elder Scrolls 6, Todd Howard says "we know we need to get it right and it's been a long time" · Starfield Is Bethesda's Lowest-Rated Game On Steam · The Elder Scrolls 6 Devs Fear "More Delays" After Layoffs Have "Crushing Effect On Morale"

Factual background compiled from public sources — the debate analysis below relies exclusively on the comments.

How we got here

as told by the comments
June 2018

The 36-second teaser drops with zero gameplay footage, kicking off a wait that would stretch on for years.

December 2019

Early doubts about future quality surface, with some already fearing a game 'worse than Fallout 76' after its botched launch.

2023-2024

Following Starfield's mixed reception, doubt spreads widely: comments explicitly link both disappointing titles to the risk hanging over ES6.

2025-2026

Skepticism peaks, with heavily liked comments declaring 'zero hope', while a minority still defends Todd Howard's patient approach.

The Elder Scrolls VI

~15% of the discussion on this game

For this still-unreleased title, the debate centers on Bethesda's recent track record: Fallout 76 and Starfield fuel fears of a missed opportunity, eight years after a single teaser.

Serious doubt after Fallout 76 and Starfield 70 %

Many doubt Elder Scrolls VI can meet expectations, given the disappointing quality of the studio's last two releases.
Others argue the time and resources spent on Fallout 76 and Starfield were wasted years that delayed and weakened the next Elder Scrolls' development.
« Fallout 76 and Starfield pushed Elder Scrolls 6 back by years. Fallout 76 probably should have been outsourced like ESO, and Starfield was pretty bad — it feels like BGS wasted ten years on unnecessary projects. »
— @GXtera · ♥ 1 k · translated · see original ↗
Some point to a broader loss of direction at Bethesda, arguing the studio has drifted from classic RPGs toward less ambitious open-world action games.
« Bethesda no longer makes RPGs. Just open-world looter shooters. »
— @skinny2swole · ♥ 940 · translated · see original ↗

Confidence maintained despite recent setbacks 30 %

Some commenters still vouch for Todd Howard's genuine passion for the franchise, seeing it as a sign the game will be crafted with care.
« People joke about Todd all the time, but I think his passion for Elder Scrolls is really admirable. »
— @MintTea-0 · ♥ 4 k · translated · see original ↗
Others are counting on the modders hired by Bethesda to fold the community's best ideas into the finished game.
« Hearing that modders were hired makes me so happy. I'm hoping ES6 will combine all the best aspects of the mods to truly make the ultimate open-world game. »
— @freezingsilver · ♥ 4 k · translated · see original ↗
Where the debate standsSkepticism clearly dominates the conversation, fueled by memories of Fallout 76 and Starfield's mixed reception, with no concrete details on Elder Scrolls VI yet available to settle the debate. A minority still trusts Todd Howard and the modding community, but it remains a clear minority against widespread fatigue.

Frequently asked questions

Why do fans doubt the quality of Elder Scrolls 6?
Because the studio's last two games, Fallout 76 and Starfield, disappointed part of the audience, fueling fears that Bethesda has lost its touch for such an ambitious RPG.
Does this doubt only concern Elder Scrolls 6?
The debate centers on discussions around Elder Scrolls 6, but it constantly draws on the perceived failures of Fallout 76 and Starfield, cited as evidence by skeptics.
What do Bethesda's defenders say?
They point to Todd Howard's passion for the franchise and count on the modders hired by the studio to elevate the final game's quality.
Since when has this skepticism intensified?
Early doubts appear as far back as late 2019, but they clearly intensified after Starfield's mixed reception, staying elevated through 2025-2026.
Analysis built from 360 public YouTube comments on the tracked videos — updated on 13/07/2026. Our methodology