On the 8-year anniversary of Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls 6 announcement, Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty says the company won’t show the game until “the right time,” and when it finally does, it will come with a promise that it’s “coming soon.” The long
For eight years, fans have been living on a promise—one teaser from Bethesda’s E3 stage in Los Angeles and then silence so persistent it’s started to feel personal.
On Sunday, June 10, 2018, Bethesda revealed The Elder Scrolls 6 during its E3 conference, alongside a teaser trailer that “offered fans next to nothing.” Eight years later, what remains hasn’t exactly changed: fans still know “next to nothing.”
The latest reminder came again last week, when The Elder Scrolls 6 was yet another no-show at the Xbox Games Showcase. Each absence lands differently for players the longer it lasts. Attention doesn’t just fade—it turns into worry. People have started asking out loud when anything concrete will arrive: “Later this year?. Next year?. 2028?” It’s hard to pin down, and the uncertainty has become its own kind of pressure.
In an interview with Variety, Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty didn’t offer a timeline for the reveal. What he did offer was a clear condition: when Microsoft and Bethesda do decide to show it. the message won’t be distant. Booty suggested that the moment the game finally appears properly, it will also signal that release is close.
Booty said he’s balancing two competing instincts—wanting to show off the work early while also knowing “we want to wait till the right moment.” He framed it as a balancing act between excitement and timing, and then connected that timing to what fans deserve once they’re finally shown.
“when you decide to show it, you want it to be the best you’ve got,” Booty said. He added that the reveal itself carries an implied promise: “when you show the game, you’re also giving them a promise of, hey, it’s coming soon.”
He also offered a glimpse behind the scenes. Booty said he’s visited Bethesda to watch The Elder Scrolls 6 being played, and that “it’s coming along well.” He called the game’s progress impressive after seeing it with Todd—saying, “it looks amazing, and it’s coming along well.”
“And we’ll make sure to announce it and really reveal it at the right time,” Booty said.
That phrase—“at the right time”—echoes a pattern that Bethesda leadership has leaned on for a while. The last time Todd Howard talked about The Elder Scrolls 6 was in March 2026. when he joked that everyone should pretend Bethesda hadn’t announced it. The topic has circled back before. including February. when Howard admitted he would have preferred not to have announced the game so early.
Even when Howard acknowledges that fans want more, he keeps steering the conversation toward distance and patience. Last November. he warned eager fans that the game is still “still a long way off. ” and he even teased that he may just shadow-drop it. In February. Howard reiterated that “it’s gonna be a while yet. ” and confirmed that “We’re able to play it. we’re about to pass a big milestone internally. the majority of the studio is on the game and some of our partners.”.
Howard’s pitch for waiting has stayed consistent: release timing isn’t just logistics. it’s the argument for why the finished game will meet expectations. In December of last year. he asked what fans really want—then answered in terms of not rushing the “turkey that is in the oven.” He said: “Do they want a game that comes out before it should and doesn’t meet their expectations?. Or do they want the turkey that is in the oven for long enough to be delicious when it finally comes out of the oven. you know?. That’s what I think people are going to want.”.
He added: “So, we’re going to take our time and as long as it needs to be great.”
The sequence is hard to miss. The game is old enough now that players have shifted from “waiting for a reveal” to “counting years,” and the messaging has continued to promise quality and proximity without giving a concrete date.
For now, the only thing The Elder Scrolls 6 can reliably deliver is the feeling that its next appearance will be the one that changes everything. Booty’s words set the expectation: when it finally gets shown, it won’t just be a tease—it will be presented as “coming soon.”
The Elder Scrolls 6 Elder Scrolls VI Matt Booty Xbox Games Showcase 2026 Bethesda Todd Howard E3 2018 release date coming soon
So it’s coming “soon”… cool cool cool.
I swear they keep teasing it just to keep people subscribed. 8 years is not “next to nothing,” that’s basically nothing lol. What’s the point of saying the right time if they never have one?
Maybe it’s not even real anymore. Like they said it was coming soon so Microsoft could distract everyone while they work on the next console or whatever. And then Xbox Games Showcase no-show just confirms it. I don’t even know, just feels like a bait and switch.
“The right time” is such a corporate phrase. Elder Scrolls fans have been waiting longer than some marriages, I’m not even kidding. If they finally show it and it means release is close, why not just show it when it’s halfway done? also E3 tease was years ago so I’m side-eyeing everything.