Todd Howard says Elder Scrolls 6 is a return to "classic" Bethesda RPGs like Skyrim, Oblivion, and Fallout 4 after the "creative detour" the studio took with Fallout 76 and Starfield: "We do have a certain style that we like"

The Elder Scrolls 6 is a return to that "classic" Bethesda RPG style, says studio head Todd Howard.

Appearing on today's Kinda Funny Gamescast, Howard gave a surprisingly meaty, although fairly vague, update on The Elder Scrolls 6. While he admitted the game won't be out "for a while yet," he gave fans of beloved Bethesda RPGs something to chew on while they wait. Apparently, The Elder Scrolls 6 will be a return to form following the "creative detour" Bethesda took with Fallout 76 and then Starfield.

"If you look at our games, we've always evolved. We do have a certain style that we like, and our fans like, that we want to get better and better at," Howard said. "I think in many ways, Fallout 76 and Starfield are a little bit of a creative detour from that classic Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Oblivion, where you're exploring a world in a certain way. And as we come back to Elder Scrolls 6 that we're doing now, we're coming back to that classic style that we've missed, that we know really well."

Howard added that Bethesda has spent two years upgrading Creation Engine 2, which powers Starfield, to Creation Engine 3, which is where The Elder Scrolls 6 is being built, so there's a lot of technical innovation that'll "bring that detail close to the camera immediately," but ultimately, he says "we have a style of game that we really, really like" and that "people expect from us."

"There's a lot of innovation to be done there still, so that when you step into a world, you feel like you're experiencing it, really, for the first time, a game like that. We're happy with where it's headed right now," said Howard.

Although it was announced seven long years ago, we still don't know a whole lot about The Elder Scrolls 6 at all, which is remarkable when you think on it. The leading theory is that Hammerfell is the game's setting, although that's not confirmed, and there's no release date in sight. One thing we do know for sure: it'll have more trees than Skyrim, as Howard himself so generously offered recently.

The Elder Scrolls 6 setting may have been decided when Bethesda was working on Fallout 4, former Skyrim lead and "loremaster" teases: "It was more of a consensus."