Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally here, which means that we can at last go back to being normal about video game news without worrying about an entire fandom periodically exploding over perceived hints and teasers that don't – wait, what's that? Oh. Oh, no. Folks, I regret to inform you that The Elder Scrolls 6 fans have latched onto a new conspiracy for a fresh dose of release date copium.
Skyrim got yet another re-release yesterday, this time on Switch 2. Accompanying the release was a bizarre live-action trailer about an elf at Santa's workshop accidentally deleting the entire Christmas wishlist spreadsheet because somebody walked in on him reading The Lusty Argonian Maid. Another elf suggests giving everyone Skyrim on Switch 2 for Christmas. (Also, Skyrim Grandma is there for some reason.)
The latter elf's suggestion is heralded as the perfect solution, and the moment is marked with a little Skyrim-themed visual gag. His speech level increases to 27, speeding his progress to level 20. Wait… 20? 27? If you put those numbers together, you get a year! A year which could, conceivably, see the launch of The Elder Scrolls 6!
If you're thinking that this sounds like an absolutely ridiculous stretch of the imagination, I'm right there with you. But you'll find the Elder Scrolls 6 subreddit is now awash in posts about this alleged teaser, and the community is whipping itself into the kind of frenzy I've not seen since the height of the Silkposting era – which, admittedly, was not that long ago. But still.
I foolishly assumed that most of the posts about this supposed 2027 teaser would be ironic jokes, but no, there seem to be a whole lot of people genuinely taking this idea seriously. "Good catch, 27 is an oddly specific number," one user says. "Feel like this actually might mean something," another commenter suggests. "Level 20 and speech increase to 27 is pretty specific."
"The probability that a realistic release date (2026-2030) is shown is 5 in 100 the probability the other number is 20 is 1 in 100," according to a comment that would give Scott Steiner pause. "As they could be either way round that gives the chance of them picking such a combination at all to be 0.1%."
Without stopping for breath, they continue: "Now you might say that numbers in a smaller range like 5-30 are more common Skyrim levelling numbers and that not everything is 1 in 100 for levelling but still this doesn't make it more likely can even make it less. So there's practically a 0% chance of this happening. Could also be that since speech increased from 26->27 that indicates that they delayed a year but that's just wild theories."
At least a few commenters are maintaining a sensible outlook. "We are cooked," one user observes of others taking this whole thing seriously. "Like, double deep-fried levels of cooked."
