Todd Howard has confirmed to IGN that Fallout 5 will be Bethesda Game Studios' next game after The Elder Scrolls 6, which itself will follow on from 2023's Starfield.
Speaking to IGN about last weekend's Starfield gameplay reveal at the Xbox-Bethesda showcase, Howard briefly delved into what's next for his studio once the new IP is out of the door:
"Yes, Elder Scrolls 6 is in pre-production and, you know, we’re going to be doing Fallout 5 after that, so our slate’s pretty full going forward for a while. We have some other projects that we look at from time to time as well."
Howard has told IGN previously that the studio has an idea for Fallout 5 in place, saying, "Fallout's really part of our DNA here. We've worked with other [developers] from time to time – I can't say say what's gonna happen. You know, we have a one-pager on Fallout 5, what we want to do." However, Howard hadn't confirmed that it would definitely be on the way after The Elder Scrolls 6.
Of course, at Bethesda's current pace of production, it will still likely be many years before we see what Fallout 5 actually is. In today's interview, Howard confirmed that work started on Starfield in late 2015, meaning it will be over 7 years from start to finish when the game arrives. The last mainline Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim, arrived in 2011, and with the sequel still in pre-production, we likely have years to go before we see that one too. We learned previously that The Elder Scrolls 6 was pushed back because the team wanted to make Starfield first.
Howard acknowledged the long waits for his fan-favorite games, implying he's as frustrated as those waiting to play them: "They do take a while, I wish they came out faster, I really do, we’re trying as hard as we can, but we want them to be as best as they can be for everybody."
Fallout 4 was released in 2015, followed by a less beloved multiplayer spin-off, Fallout 76. Starfield is finally feeling close after many years in development, and the first gameplay reveal showed off combat, introduced customization, and even hinted at a visit to Earth and our Solar System.
The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced in 2018, but we know very little about it despite some hints in the original teaser. What we can guess is that it will be an Xbox exclusive, after comments from Head of Xbox Phil Spencer.
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
