Todd Howard posted on Reddit. That’s the news, and if you’ve followed Bethesda for the past decade you understand why that alone counts as an event.
The studio behind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the Fallout games, which it took creative control of from Obsidian Entertainment, has spent recent years saying almost nothing while fans waited on its biggest titles. Howard decided to break the silence.
What Bethesda quietly confirmed in July
Back in July, Bethesda put up an official post on its website laying out the roadmap. Fallout 5 is in pre-production and is being built on the Creation Engine 3.
There’s more. Remasters of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are in development. And Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment will reportedly team up on a brand-new Fallout title, though details on that one remain scarce.
Good news on paper. The catch is that The Elder Scrolls VI is currently Bethesda’s top priority, which means every one of these Fallout projects is still years out.
Eight years and not even a release window
The Elder Scrolls VI was first unveiled in 2018 with a very brief teaser trailer. Eight years later there’s still no confirmed release window, not even a vague one, and plenty of fans have concluded it could be years away yet.
Meanwhile Starfield, the studio’s most recent RPG, was considered a flop. It still gets updates. So does Fallout 76.
That’s the backdrop for Howard’s charm offensive.
Howard goes to r/Games
Howard took to r/Games himself to add context to the update.
“Hey Reddit. I’m a professional lurker and read your comments all the time. Many here do and we deeply appreciate all the passion for our work. I know I don’t really post, and we’re usually very quiet. Today’s info was an attempt at changing that and letting everyone know what we’ve been working on the past several years, and a look at what’s coming. So know we’re constantly listening and keep telling us how to be even better. You’d be surprised how many great ideas I get from Reddit. So upvote your favorite and we’ll do it. Maybe,” Howard said.
The “Maybe” is doing a lot of work there.
The comments were not charmed
Fans, still sore about the drought of updates, showed up in the replies with receipts.
“Todd Howard when Microsoft suddenly realizes waiting two decades for a new Fallout is a dumb idea,” one comment read. Another zeroed in on the remaster news: “I’d hope this new energy includes better performance from the 3 and NV remasters. Oblivion is abandoned and its soured my hype for Fallout.”
One more, blunter: “Do recall they announced ES6 eight years ago as a ploy. Expect nothing from Bethesda unless they have s*it to show.”
No trailer, no images, no date
Here’s the part that keeps this announcement from landing: there were no trailers and no promotional images to go with it. A website post and a Reddit comment.
So fans go back to where they’ve been since 2018, watching an empty road and hoping something eventually comes down it.
