On July 17, 2026, Todd Howard published a message to fans confirming that Fallout 5 was in pre-production and The Elder Scrolls 6 remained the studio’s top priority, despite massive cuts at Xbox. Both games are being developed on Creation Engine 3, the shared technology platform Bethesda has been building since the launch of Starfield.
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The Elder Scrolls 6 Became Top Priority for Bethesda
Howard confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 is Bethesda’s “primary development focus,” with the majority of the team working on it. The studio’s message stated, “We’re where we planned, we love how it looks, and we’re playing it every day.” As a reminder, The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced back in 2018, and according to some reports, its release is at least two years away.
Fallout 5 Is Officially in Preproduction Stage
According to Howard, the fifth Fallout game is in pre-production and remains the studio’s “long-term goal.” This means the game will not be released anytime soon, definitely after The Elder Scrolls 6. However, fans will not have time to get bored: several Fallout projects are currently in active development.
New Games and Remasters in Fallout Universe
In its announcement, Bethesda listed a number of projects the studio is working on in partnership with other teams:
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A new game from Obsidian Entertainment. The studio behind Fallout: New Vegas is once again collaborating with Bethesda on a new project in the Fallout universe.
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Remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. It has been officially confirmed that both games will receive remastered versions, although release dates have not yet been announced.
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Raven Rock expansion for Fallout 76. A major update will be released in 2027 and will tell the story before the events of Fallout 3.
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The third season of the Fallout series from Amazon Studios and Kilter Films is already in production.
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Bethesda will hold a special event in Washington, D.C. in 2027 to celebrate the series’ 30th anniversary.
Why TES 6 Is More Important Than Fallout 5
Bethesda’s choice of The Elder Scrolls 6 as its top priority is not a coincidence, but a necessary strategy. Skyrim, released 15 years ago, has sold over 65 million copies, and fans have been waiting for a sequel for almost a decade since its announcement in 2018. The prolonged wait is hurting the studio’s reputation more than the lack of a new Fallout. Furthermore, in early July 2026, Microsoft announced it would lay off 3,200 employees in its games division, 1,600 of which were laid off that same day. Bethesda and Obsidian were among the studios affected. Under these circumstances, publishing a roadmap is a way to show fans that development of key projects is on track.
Creation Engine 3 Will Unite TES 6 and Fallout 5
Both games are being developed using Creation Engine 3, the engine Bethesda has been developing since the release of Starfield. According to the studio, the new technology “allows teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems.” This means that development of TES 6 and Fallout 5 is proceeding in parallel, without loss of quality, on a single technology base.
Fallout 5 Release Date and AAA Game Deadlines
Pre-production is not the “beginning of development” in the traditional sense. During this stage, the team works on concepting, prototyping, and approving design documents. The team is minimal: a producer, lead designer, engineer, and artist. Ideally, pre-production takes up about 20% of the time allocated for the entire game development cycle.
Stages of Modern AAA Game Development
Large-scale AAA projects take an average of 5-7 years to develop. Considering that Fallout 5 has only just entered pre-production, and TES6 has not even been released yet, the release of the fifth game is unlikely to happen before 2030-2032.
What Should Fans Play While Waiting For Fallout 5
While Fallout 5 remains a “long-term goal,” fans of the series have plenty to keep them busy: remasters of Fallout 3 and New Vegas are already in production, Obsidian is preparing a new project set in the universe, a major expansion, Raven Rock, will be released for Fallout 76 in 2027, and the third season of the Amazon series is already in the works. So a return to the Wasteland is not a matter of the immediate future, but it is certainly in the foreseeable future.
