While Rockstar Games is still dawdling with GTA VI—two trailers, rumors, analysis—The Elder Scrolls fans can only afford a bitter grin. Their major “announcement” came back in 2018: 36 seconds of beautiful mountains, a logo, and then eight long years of silence. Since then, Bethesda seems to have forgotten it promised a sixth installment.
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2018 Teaser: What Fans Know About The Elder Scrolls VI After Eight Years of Silence
Reddit on TES VI: “We Know Everything About GTA 6—All We Know About TES Is That It Exists”
A Reddit user under the nickname (the nickname doesn’t matter) posted a screenshot of that same 2018 trailer in the r/GTA6 subreddit. The caption reads like a slap in the face: “If you think GTA 6 is taking too long to make, just remember: Bethesda uploaded a teaser almost eight years ago and never looked back.” Players quickly picked up on the topic. One comment concluded: “We know a LOT about GTA VI—dates, characters, leaks. About TES VI, all we know is that it exists and that it will have more trees than Skyrim.” Another added with barely concealed irritation: “Judging by interviews, Todd Howard gets really annoyed when people ask about the game. Then why even show a teaser?”
GTA VI already has two trailers (December 2023 and May 2025). The third is delayed—but fans see progress. Fans of The Elder Scrolls have one short video and years of silence. And, paradoxically, it’s the players waiting for GTA who are beginning to realize: they’re lucky.
The Elder Scrolls Series Timeline: From 1994’s Arena to the Endless Wait for TES VI
The first game in the series, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, was released in 1994. Daggerfall followed two years later. From then on, the pauses grew longer. Morrowind made us wait six years (2002). Oblivion – four (2006). Skyrim – five (November 11, 2011). And now, for almost 15 years, there has been no new numbered installment. Only the multiplayer The Elder Scrolls Online (2014) tries to make the wait easier. But an MMO is no substitute for a full-fledged single-player adventure. Fans feel this more acutely with each passing year.
GTA 6 vs TES VI: Why the gap in marketing and audience interest is so big
200 million GTA 6 pre—orders versus 36 seconds of the TES VI teaser
, 200 million pre-orders by May 2025 – that’s how much GTA 6 collected after the second trailer, where 1980s Vice City comes to life with hyper-realistic traffic and chatty NPCs. TES 6, we recall, still exists in the form of 36 seconds of landscape from 2018 — no heroes, no plot, no hint of gameplay. While Rockstar is building a hype machine, Bethesda is refining Starfield and patching up Fallout 4.
How Rockstar Games has been keeping the spotlight on GTA 6 for Seven years
1 billion views of GTA 6 trailers and the Rockstar hype machine
The system works here. Memes in X, weekly portions of laura about Vice City, a collaboration with Netflix — and 1.2 billion trailer views in total. TES6 scored 150 million, and then mostly on the wave of nostalgia for Skyrim.
GTA 6 release date is September 26, 2026, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S; PC version will be released in about a year. The specifics sell. Fans vote in rubles precisely because they know that the game is coming out, the date is on, and there is no turning back.
Why Is Bethesda Losing Out to Rockstar Even in Marketing The Elder Scrolls VI
Creation Engine 2 and forecast 2028-2030: what is known about the development of TES VI
Todd Howard periodically appears in interviews and talks about “more trees” — without a roadmap, without beta tests, without at least some kind of foothold for fans. Leaks mention Creation Engine 2 with ray tracing, forecasts are called 2028-2030. Given that Starfield flew into release two years late, skepticism is well-founded.
Hype Battle: GTA 6 vs TES 6
How the GTA 6 and TES VI race will end: predictions and risks for Bethesda
On Reddit, TES6 fans formulate precisely: Rockstar keeps the rhythm, Bethesda is drowning in Oblivion Remastered bugs. Without specific dates and gameplay screenings, the RPG risks entering the 2028-2030 release window with an already cooled audience — and GTA 6 will be selling the second season online by that time.
15 years without a new The Elder Scrolls game: what’s been released during the wait for TES VI
While Bethesda ponders what the sixth installment will be like, the industry hasn’t stood still. Tired of waiting, fans of the series even compiled a list to illustrate just how long the gap between Skyrim and TES VI has been. The results are revealing.
During these years, the following have been released:
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14 Call of Duty games – from Black Ops to Modern Warfare III.
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13 FromSoftware titles – including both Dark Souls II and III, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring.
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Two The Last of Us games and several seasons of the TV series adaptation.
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12 generations of iPhone – from the 4S to the 16 Pro Max.
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16 major versions and builds of Windows – including Vista, 8, 10, and 11.
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12 Android releases – from Ice Cream Sandwich to Android 15.
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Three generations of Nintendo consoles – Wii U, Switch, and the new Switch 2.
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17 Marvel Cinematic Universe series – from Daredevil to Moon Knight.
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14 Star Wars shows – including The Mandalorian, Andor, and Ahsoka.
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The entire Better Call Saul series – six seasons, from the first to the final one.
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Five Eminem albums – from Recovery to The Death of Slim Shady.
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And even a manned mission to the Moon – the Artemis program finally reached the satellite.
The list goes on and on. The scale of the anticipation seems almost absurd – especially considering Skyrim was released back in 2011.
The Elder Scrolls VI Release Date: Realistic Predictions and Why 2030 Is the Target
It seems like Bethesda is already regretting ever teasing the game in 2018. Too early is putting it mildly. Studio head Todd Howard avoids any question about the release date. Specifics are nonexistent. And this is despite the enormous audience interest.
Fans have long been eager to move forward—even despite Skyrim’s cult status and the army of mods that keep the game afloat. Fifteen years of waiting is too much. And if development doesn’t accelerate, TES VI risks being released just in time for the fifth game’s 20th anniversary. Unofficial estimates point to 2030 as the earliest realistic date.
Given the scale of the series and the bar set by Skyrim, the developers will have to give it their all. But if you look at Bethesda’s current pace, there’s a nagging suspicion we won’t see The Elder Scrolls VII at all. At least not in our lifetimes.
