The Elder Scrolls 6 fans are already losing interest
The eventual reveal of The Elder Scrolls 6 was shocking purely because it was confirmation of The Elder Scrolls 6. Simply announced at E3 2018, there wasn't much else about it.
The reveal of the fantasy epic was a simple pan of a standard-looking fantasy world with a title card that didn't even announce the subtitle of the game. It's been six years, and apart from some vague confirmation it'll be an Xbox exclusive, we haven't heard much about The Elder Scrolls 6.
Bethesda has been hard at work on Starfield, and even though it didn't hit every mark for players, it's still an awful lot of work to put into a game. But surely, surely, there was no need to get player hopes up only to reveal nothing in the next six years? Well, it looks like a toll has finally been taken.
Hype is draining for The Elder Scrolls 6
It looks like long-standing fans of the Elder Scrolls series are starting to seriously lose their patience, and with it, their excitement for the game entirely.
"Has the Elder Scrolls 6 lost anticipation?" asks one post in the gaming subreddit. The say that since Starfield released, it feels like the company is stuck in the past with "outdated features" and an "inability to catch up with the time." They conclude, "Has their biggest IP the Elder Scrolls 6 lost anticipation and excitement?"
This feeling isn't unfounded. After six years of wondering what comes next, thirteen years since a full single-player Elder Scrolls game, and a Bethesda RPG that has missed the mark despite the passions of its team, it's easy to see why players are starting to feel exacerbated.
We're a long way from the Skyrim days, and it isn't looking good for the franchise right now. Others seem to agree, as one critic wrote, "It felt like fans were losing interest as far back as Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 when it showed the weaknesses of Bethesda's principle writing and design teams.
"Then Starfield came out and the lackluster speed of updates and improvements really stopped the hype train in its tracks." There were plenty of others agreeing with the OP, suggesting that The Elder Scrolls has been relying on Skyrim and its many rereleases for too long.
Players aren't feeling the Elder Scrolls series right now
Click to enlargeAnother user added that the wrong lessons have been learned from Elder Scrolls' success, and the company has strayed in the wrong direction:
"The strength of Skyrim is the beautiful and interesting world it contains. The magic of that game when it came out was that you could just wander in a random direction for 15 hours of gameplay and have such a varied, interesting experience that it created an internal narrative for your character that motivated you to stick with it."
Someone else said, "I'm honestly much more hyped for Avowed than I am for ES6. I just don't have any faith that Bethesda can deliver any more." Not everyone was against Bethesda, as another concluded, "I'd love to say I wouldn't be hyped, but I absolutely would. Nothing else really scratches that Elder Scrolls itch, unfortunately."
Whatever the cause, Bethesda's game design feeling more dated with each release is having a major impact on excitement for Skyrim's sequel, even ignoring the six years of nothing. Fingers crossed that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be worth the wait.
