The Elder Scrolls 6, one of the most anticipated video games of all time, will run on Creation Engine 3, an upgraded version of the engine used in Starfield, Bethesda’s Todd Howard has confirmed.
In a recent interview with Kinda Funny Games, Howard discussed Bethesda’s plans involving The Elder Scrolls 6, confirming that the studio intends to return to its “classic-style” RPG roots after experimenting with a different formula in titles like Fallout 76 and Starfield
While talking about the much-anticipated successor to Skyrim, Howard revealed that Bethesda has spent the past several years upgrading its Creation Engine to power upcoming projects, including The Elder Scrolls VI and future games.
“We’ve spent the last several years bringing Creation Engine 2, which powers Starfield, up to Creation Engine 3, which is going to power Elder Scrolls 6 and beyond,” Howard said. “Obviously, we do all of the rendering things. We’re really happy with all of the new stuff that we’re doing, but also world systems, loading, how we bring things into the world, [and] how we get that detail close to the camera immediately.”
Needless to say, this sudden announcement has caught many gamers off guard. It marks a notable shift from Todd Howard’s earlier comments in 2021, when he stated that both Starfield and the next Elder Scrolls title would run on Creation Engine 2.
While the engine upgrade is certainly welcome news for fans of the franchise, Howard reiterated that Elder Scrolls VI is still “a while yet” from release, with no official launch date announced as of yet. However, he also confirmed that the majority of Bethesda is currently working on the game and is about to pass a big internal milestone.
“It’s going well, we’re happy with it, and it’s going to be a while yet. We’re happy where we pushed the technology and how the game is coming together,” he said. “We’re able to play it; we’re about to pass a big milestone internally. The majority of the studio is on the game, and some of our partners.”
