You might think there isnt a lot of official information out there regarding The Elder Scrolls VI, and youd be right to an extent. Much of whats out there is rumour, pieced together from various interviews and previews that have surfaced since The Elder Scrolls VIs announcement trailer back in 2018. Many of the points in the feature have weight to them, some are tenuous at best. But, with official information sorely lacking its fun in the meantime to speculate.2026 earliest possible release dateBack in 2023 a document tied to Microsofts legal tussle with the FTC surfaced, and in said documents were a few choice wads of information relating to The Elder Scrolls VIs release window. It didnt come as much of a surprise back then to learn that the release was still a few years off, with 2026 cited as the earliest possible release date for Bethesdas long-awaited RPG follow-up.Phil Spencer reckons itll release 2028However, contrary to 2023s FTC versus Microsoft documentation Xboxs Phil Spencer went on record during the trial in 2023 to state The Elder Scrolls VI is still five years away, putting its potential release date back to 2028. Things, of course, can change in time, so its worth pointing out at this junction the theme of this article is that these rumours may or may not come to fruition. After all, The Elder Scrolls VIs 2026 release date was argued by one of Microsofts lawyers in court during the same FTC hearing so if were going to opt for any release date with the most likelihood, well go for that one.Official release date coming 6 months before launchThis one comes from former Bethesda developer Bruce Nesmith who spoke to MinnMax in late-2023. Nesmith, who worked as Skyrims lead designer states The Elder Scrolls VIs release cycle will follow Fallout 4s exactly in that we wont hear anything official about its release date until six months before. Now, Nesmith left Bethesda in 2021 so again his opinion is subject to change, but during his conversation with MinnMax he reckons the six-month window is Todd Howards preferred timeframe, and that he believes developers who announce release dates too early shoot themselves in the foot given the constant chance of games suffering delays.Itll be Xbox and PC onlyFollowing Microsofts acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax media for a not-in-exorbitant sum it stands to reason Microsoft will want to keep their most anticipated releases to their own platforms, so whilst weve had no official confirmation yet we can expect The Elder Scrolls VI to release exclusively to Xbox and Windows. In fact, going further, the FTC versus Microsoft documentation outright ruled out a PlayStation version.However, there is a glimmer of hope for PlayStationA lot has changed in the year-plus since this FTC versus Microsoft documentation. Perhaps unthinkable at one stage was Microsofts current plans to export their formally platform-exclusive titles to other hardware. The games theyve shipped to Sony and Nintendo arent of the same scale as The Elder Scrolls, of course, but it does provide a glimmer of hope to other platforms that The Elder Scrolls VI appearing on other platforms cannot be totally ruled out. Furthermore, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was once believed to be exclusive to Microsoft but presently its slated to appear as a timed exclusive, the game set to release to PlayStation 5 in Spring 2025.It will be on Game PassIn a rumour that will surprise exactly no-one, The Elder Scrolls VI will be available day one on Game Pass. In fact, its not really a rumour, is it? This tidbit has been common knowledge since all the way back in 2020 when Bethesdas Todd Howard was in discussion with GameIndustry.biz, in a conversation that was mostly centred on Starfield but did include a comment about The Elder Scrolls VI whereby Howard stated both RPGs will be available to Game Pass subscribers at no extra cost.Itll be set in HammerfallPure speculation from Eurogamer Deputy Editor Chris Tapsell here but back in 2021 the site published a comprehensive piece on The Elder Scrolls VIs location, with Hammerfall being where they believe the game will be set. The article makes for thorough reading, but the summarising assumptions are that the games brief trailer hints at a location and that the games timeline will at least be close to events thatve occurred in the series prior entries. We agree to an extent with Tapsell though; the location in the trailer is most likely a clue as to the games location. The environ we float over is dry, arid, rocky; the city we see is coastal. Through process of elimination, study of topography and city placement, Eurogamer decide on Hammerfall. They make a good case, and the article is well worth digging out.Alternatively, Starfield holds the clue to locationStarfield previewed a teaser trailer back at the Microsoft and Bethesda E3 Showcase 2022, and an ultra-observant user on Reddit posted what they believed to be a map of The Elder Scrolls VIs location etched into the console of a starship. Its quite a stretch to be honest, the doodle definitely appearing deliberately placed but not looking especially similar to the Redditers claim its a drawing of Lilac Bay, the body of water between Hammerfall and High Rock. That said, this location would align with Eurogamers best guess, its just the etching deliberate it may be doesnt look like anything we see on a map of Tamriel.Its being built on Bethesdas own game engineAnother tidbit from Todd Howard. During an interview with UK-based newspaper The Telegraph in June 2021 we learned that The Elder Scrolls VI will run on Bethesdas own Creation Engine 2. Going further, Howard states that while Starfield runs on this engine it was specifically created for both. Therere customisations and additions unique to The Elder Scrolls VI though, but yep as always we dont know a hell of a lot more than that.Playable early builds existAnd whats more, theyve been playable for most of 2024, if a swift sentence in Bethesdas The Elder Scrolls 30th anniversary tweet is anything to go by. Nestled towards the end of their celebratory statement reads the following: yes, we are in development on the next chapter The Elder Scrolls VI. Even now, returning to Tamriel and playing early builds has filled us with the same joy, excitement, and promise of adventure.Todd Howard reckons itll be played and replayed for longer than SkyrimYes, Todd Howard was at it again five years ago. During a video interview with IGN, Howard declared his vision for The Elder Scrolls VI was for it to be played and replayed for a longer timeframe than Skyrims then eight-year run. Skyrim is still massively popular now nearly thirteen years out from its initial launch, so should Todd be wanting to stick to that statement the gauntlet has well and truly been laid.Shared lore responsibilitiesIn an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun earlier this year Elder Scrolls Online director Matt Firor stated that lore responsibilities for The Elder Scrolls VI were being shared equally between his team at ZeniMax Online Studios and the developers at Bethesda working directly on the sequel. Its evidence of mass collaboration, which if done right will ensure a richer, more consistent backstory when the game finally comes out.Skyrim magic system will continueBack to former Bethesda developer Bruce Nesmith and a podcast interview with MinnMax where he stated that Skyrims magic system and specifically how players upgrade magic will absolutely continue into The Elder Scrolls VI. He goes on to say that there will be new concepts to deal with how you level up too, and we dont expect magic to function exactly the same as in Skyrim but Nesmiths comments are coming direct from source (before he left Bethesda, that is).The game will support mods (OBVIOUSLY!)In another one of Todd Howards video interviews from back in 2022, the Bethesda director stated to Lex Friedman that The Elder Scrolls VI will support mods. Its another one of those least surprising revelations, but it does give us a clue into how Todd expects players to be playing The Elder Scrolls VI for ten or twenty years after release.