Elder Scrolls 6 fans yearn for news as Skyrim turns 14, instead get Todd Howard saying it's "still a long way off" despite being announced 7 years ago: "Bethesda has had us hanging by a thread"

It's that time of year again, folks – as Bethesda Game Studios celebrates yet another Skyrim birthday, fans of its iconic fantasy RPG series gather to commemorate one more year of literally no real news on The Elder Scrolls 6.

Skyrim was first released (emphasis on "first," given that Bethesda has since relaunched it in various formats and new editions) on November 11, 2011. I was just 12 years old, and only five years had passed since the previous Elder Scrolls game – Oblivion, in all its beautiful buggy glory – had dropped. It's been a whopping 14 years now of Skyrim, but The Elder Scrolls 6 is still nowhere in sight.

A grueling seven years have now passed since The Elder Scrolls 6 debuted with its short teaser trailer at E3 in 2018, in fact. Little about the upcoming RPG has surfaced after it – not counting passing references like the small post-Oblivion Remastered mention from Todd Howard or the NPC auction that raised $85,000. I mean, not even this year's Summer Game Fest brought a sneak peek at the long-awaited Bethesda title.

Unsurprisingly, fans are losing hope (it's me, I'm fans) – and a new interview with Howard in which he admits it's been "too long" since Skyrim but says The Elder Scrolls 6 is "still a long way off" has sent the community spiraling even further. A Reddit thread regarding his words proves as much, with one player pointing out, "a kid born when the trailer came out is in first grade now." Sheesh, just let that sink in.

Somebody else chimes in, asking, "Anyone still betting that we'll see this shit before 2030? Because I'm rapidly losing hope." Another fan speculates that, "This game will not be satisfying when it finally does release" – and it's thanks to the time between Skyrim, The Elder Scrolls 6 teaser, and the new RPG's actual release… whenever that does happen. "Regardless of the quality of the game, Bethesda has had us hanging by a thread."

A separate post references Grand Theft Auto 6 and its own recent delay, reading, "It's so funny seeing people mad at the GTA 6 delay when TES fans haven't gotten a new game in 14 years and counting." I mean, they're not exactly wrong – and with each passing year, the wait becomes all the more difficult. GTA 6 hopefuls will only have waited 13 years for it come its release, while the Elder Scrolls fanbase has only received a puny teaser in 14.

As one fan exclaims alongside a meme regarding Skyrim's 2011 launch date, "YEAR 14, GIVE IT UP FOR YEAR 14!" It's a sad day to be an Elder Scrolls stan, eh? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have yet another High Elf Dragonborn to create during this never-ending wait.

Need something to look forward to while waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6? Here are other new games arriving this year and beyond.