Not everyone is feeling optimistic about The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 following Bethesda's confirmation that both are being developed using the studio's proprietary Creation Engine, albeit an updated version.
Last week, Bethesda dropped a slew of information, including confirmation that Fallout 5 is in pre-production, that Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters are in the works, and that Obsidian Entertainment is teaming up with the studio on a whole new Fallout game. Amongst all that was the announcement that both Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls 6 are being built on Creation Engine 3, "a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch. It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games."
Speaking to Windows Central, Todd Howard states that "I can't say enough about our tech team," calling it "incredible." He adds: "Our designers ask for so much crazy stuff, and our tech team finds a way to do it. And I think that's really defined our games where you feel like anything is possible."
Despite Howard's words, however, not all fans are thrilled about the news. "The creation engine is fun for modders but it is complete dogshit compared to most other big game studios' engines," one Reddit user responds. "Time and time again it has led to crap games that feel outdated on release day. Their games really suffer from trying to please modders above all else."
"Code for 'games are gonna release in an absolute buggy mess, and we just expect the players to fix it for us,'" another writes. "Bugs and Bethesda. A tale as old as time."
Many have specifically expressed concerns about how many loading screens the two RPGs might have, with one speculating on Twitter that the choice of engine "means they will very likely both still require loading screens when entering Interiors. I think this is one of the biggest weaknesses of Bethesda games, it really does feel outdated…"
The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 are confirmed to be running on the Creation EngineThis means they will very likely both still require loading screens when entering Interiors.I think this is one of the biggest weaknesses of Bethesda games, it really does feel outdated… pic.twitter.com/WtDPdvNp0dJuly 19, 2026
Another on Reddit adds: "Bethesda seriously needs to get the load screens under control for TES VI and Fallout 5 (and presumably the Obsidian Fallout title). Small buildings still requiring load screens in the late 2020s would look bad, period."
With that said, not everyone is disappointed with the decision. "People hate the engine but no other game engine comes close to the modding ability," says a Reddit fan, as another comments: "This is a boon for future modders!" Meanwhile, some are just happy that it's not one particular alternative: "I'm just glad we won't see yet another studio subsumed into the Unreal ecosystem."
There's an air of uncertainty surrounding the Bethesda projects in general following the studio being hit in Xbox's recent wave of layoffs. Devs affected previously said that it's going to be "harder than ever now" for the studio to focus on those two core franchises after losing so much talent.
