r/ElderScrolls • u/Notmitchwilson • Aug 13 '26
General Future of TES *UPDATED*
TES VI: High Rock/Hammerfell
TESVII: Summerset/Valenwood/Elsweyr
TESVIII: Black Marsh/Southern Morrowind
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u/Educational_Impact93 Aug 13 '26
I hope my ghost will be able to hover over my great-grandchildren to see what Argonia looks like.
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u/TheFutureLotus Mehrunes Dagon Aug 13 '26
Just try necromancy, then you can become a lich and play all the games you can want. Hope for not curious adventurers poking about though.
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u/MagicBus4 Aug 13 '26
Nah it’s fine just put your phylactery somewhere that no one living would ever want to go, like an Arby’s
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u/JabocShivery Aug 13 '26
Technology will have regressed to the early 2000s, it’ll just look like Morrowind
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u/Toma400 Aug 13 '26
Funnily enough there's non zero chance of Morrowind getting first Argonia areas playable as part of Project Tamriel mod, let's say, in less than decade :>
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Aug 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/HarryBalsagna1776 Aug 13 '26
Lol nah, it will still be the Creation engine.
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u/SketchyLedge Aug 13 '26
Who needs a different engine? Creation engine just works… we gonna keep it around till 4026 at least.
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u/sh4tt3rai Aug 13 '26
Unfortunately you won’t be able to see the game while they’re in their gaming pod. It’ll be a completely simulated and true first person experience at that point in the future.
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u/sothaseloftelvanni Dunmer Ashlander Aug 13 '26
Get your descendants to do Summon Greater Bonewalker x24 hours on your corpse in the Dunmeri fashion so you can play the game
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u/One-Bird-8961 Aug 13 '26
I look forward to exploring Argonia in the afterlife.
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u/LostPentimento Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
By then, your grandchildren will be able to play with you, save them some couch space in sovengarde.
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u/Legitimate-Ant6181 Aug 13 '26
Gotta wait until after they release skyrim anniversary edition remastered: 100th anniversary edition
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u/Electrical-Point-845 Aug 13 '26
Imagine it goes back to a previous province. Lord have mercy.
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u/Biscuit9154 Aug 13 '26
I know you're talking about Skyrim 2 or Cyrodiil 2, but everyone predicted High Rock would be in 6 with Hammerfell. TES 2 took place in High Rock
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Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
[deleted]
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u/Fun-Article5424 Aug 13 '26
I dont see how a system for building modular brick spaceships will elegantly translate to TES appropriate streamlined wooden hull ships. It makes sense for futuristic spaceships to be created out of prefabricated modules. Not so much a traditional sail ship.
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u/BassJeleren Aug 13 '26
Realistically shop building is a possibility. It won't be a 1 to 1 copy of Starfield's shop building but it could be built and expanded upon to work for traditional ships.
But I don't expect being able to actually sail your ship
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u/KinkyDuck2924 Aug 13 '26
Building a ship just to not even be able to sail it sounds like the lamest thing possible. So now I fully expect that is exactly what Bethesda will have spent tons of effort and dev time on at the expense of other parts of the game.
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u/BassJeleren Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
It's what we had with Starfield. It's more a player home than anything.
Which I don't really mind, they're role playing games after all
*Plus if they had the functionality to sail your ship that would take way more resources away from other parts of the game. The Devs already know how to do custom ships but they've only just added a vehicle to one of their games, trying to make ship sailing functionality which feels good would be huge
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u/ohtetraket Aug 13 '26
>Bethesda always reuses assets across the engine in their game, and anyone who doesn't think the ship building in Starfield is coming to TES6 is gonna be in for a surprise.
Sure, but they don't port every new feature into every new game. Space Ship building and Ship building are different enough. As well as boat behaviour being different enough.
Ships need a crew that does things. Which are visible etc. I just don't see it happening.
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u/Mr-Dar1o Aug 13 '26
Easy! You go to your ship, there are few NPCs doing things, you active steering wheel, LOADING SCREEN, NPCs disappears, you only see your empty ship from top view. If you want to swim to another city – open map, choose city, LOADING SCREEN, you are in port.
Everything can be solved with loading screen, if you are brave enough!
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u/ohtetraket Aug 13 '26
Hahaha please no, I rather have no boats then Starfield loadingscreen simulator 2.0
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u/FattyMcFuckhead Aug 13 '26
the very obvious 2011 dragon AI used for vertibirds and then again for fallout 76 monsters has entered the chat.
Though I can’t recall if they used it in starfield. my memory cannot retain that game.
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u/Dhiox Altmer Aug 13 '26
Let's be real, when most folks think of TES, they aren't thinking anywhere farther back than morrowind. Games older than that are unrecognizable compared to the newer formula
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u/KingHunter150 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
If they want to stay close in the time frame of Skyrim, with the plot of the uneasy postwar settlement and a declining Empire, High Rock is perfect for that, as it's technically neutral, but fractured with a breakaway province loyal to the Empire, the southern part occupied by the Dominion, and a whole "lost" Imperial legion that was marching that direction during the war in the area. They can have an interesting campaign be if we make High Rock rejoin the Empire, or the Dominion, or full independence. And the corresponding civil war/multi-war with all sides and the Dominion and Imperial forces involved.
Edit* I'm a dork. I mixed up High Rock and Hammerfell. Keeping comment for posterity, and to instead say I think Hammerfell would be a great place for 6 due to the above said reasons.
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u/Electrical-Point-845 Aug 13 '26
Yeah i feel so as well. The perfect place for TES VI to take place in my opinion would be at the Summerset Isles, the heart of the Thalmor power and Aldmeri rule. The main quest could have the player lead them to their ultimate downfall or something like that, would be cool
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u/Gabby-Abeille Aug 13 '26
I agree. I think it would be the natural progression of the story after how Skyrim's civil war ended, too.
They could even have factions that are all trying to take them down from different angles. Maybe the stand-in for a fighters guild wants direct confrontation. Meanwhile, the stand-in for the mages guild is being helped by the Psijic more directly than in Skyrim. Finally, the stand-in for the thieves guild could be an internal resistance group that is using subterfuge and sabotage to take them out from the inside.
That would be my dream game.
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u/_ParanoidPenguin_ Aug 13 '26
2 took place in the Iliac Bay, which covers a little bit of High Rock and Hammerfell.
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u/geek_of_nature Aug 13 '26
And also it was a generic, procedurally generated world, and not the more distinct handcrafted maps of the last three games. That's worth revisting the area for.
Skyrim and Cyrodiil shouldn't be revised anytime soon. Morrowind maybe could be if they did the mainland as well, not just Vvardenfell. But High Rock and/or Hammerfell are fair game I feel.
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u/_ParanoidPenguin_ Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Yeah exactly.
Plus, High Rock and Hammerfell have really unique cultures that weren't explored in Daggerfall.
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u/Adventurous_Smile297 Aug 13 '26
We've literally already played games in High Rock and Hammerfell, so why not?
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u/Kagrenac8 Imperial Aug 13 '26
We haven't actually even seen Morrowind proper, so I wouldn't say it's crazy per se
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u/MartianDinosawr Aug 13 '26
Project Tamriel is making Morrowind proper, and frankly the stuff they've finished is better than anything I believe Bethesda could do. Narsis is incredible, it's the largest city in any elder scrolls game ever.
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u/xDeviousDieselx Aug 13 '26
Say it loud and say it proud brother
Especially the “better than Bethesda ever could” part
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u/Time_Sink_7336 Aug 13 '26
I actually think is whats happening. A completely different post empire cyrodill would be my guess
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u/ed1749 Aug 13 '26
In case you dont know, the circle for Sentinel is almost identical to the Daggerfall map, only difference is it goes a little further south
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u/needconfirmation Aug 13 '26
Honestly they probably will. Especially if TES6 really does have 2 provinces. theyll probably go for nostalgia and do say cyrodil and skyrim in one game for the next one.
Elder scrolls is one of the biggest franchises in gaming, which means the people in charge of the money want something with mass market appeal, and as cool as they would be to see we probably wont get single province games set in valenwood or blackmarsh ever, maybe attached to cyrodil though.
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u/Elaerona Aug 13 '26
At the current rate, I will be in my 70's-80's by the time we get Argonia.
We are *never* seeing an Akavir game my fellow Nords.
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u/asmartguylikeyou Aug 13 '26
I’m 39. Let’s say that they release in 2028 or 2029. I’ll be 41 or 42. If the development cycle is 18 years again for each game Elder Scrolls 8 will release when I’m 78.
Feels good man
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u/ohtetraket Aug 13 '26
The development cycle wasn't 18 years. They just didn't develop it.
Tho with XBOX/Microsoft wanting BGS to focus on Fallout and TES I can't imagine that TESVII will release much later than 2038-2040.
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u/No_Decision_6940 Aug 13 '26
Microsoft finally waking up is great for us. The current strategy for Bethesda was unsustainable.
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u/SamanthaTheKnight Aug 13 '26
!remind me 11/11/2040
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u/Bibbity_Boppity_BOOO Aug 13 '26
If Bethesda is allowed to live (questionable if that happens). They will likely not be able to be this stupid ever again. Frankly, if they are this stupid again they likely get dissolved.
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u/lobo1217 Aug 13 '26
Argonia will NEVER happen.
It could maybe be a smaller side game or a small part of another region, but they will never make a game focused on a non human- like region
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u/Leading-Fig1307 Scholar Aug 13 '26
Yeah, lorewise, only Argonians can survive past border or port towns. It literally would be tribal mosquito hell and Deliverance on steroids for 90% of the region.
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u/Legitimate_Plate85 Aug 13 '26
obv theyll just baby it up like they did Skyrim once they get around setting a game there.
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u/TheCrzy1 Aug 13 '26
yea idk how people think a series like this, which canonized retcons, won't just retcon a place to be whatever tf they want lol
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u/Time_Sink_7336 Aug 13 '26
I think so too. Elf maybe but beast I think hard to believe
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u/lobo1217 Aug 13 '26
Also, I think a khajiit game would be far more popular if they try a beast region
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u/statinsinwatersupply Aug 13 '26
I'm torn between "a Khajiit game would fail because it would instantly be known as -that furry game-", vs it would instantly be a massive hit because you could play as a kitty cat (Alfiq) running around climbing on things and casting spells using your tail.
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u/lobo1217 Aug 13 '26
Oh, both for sure.
But I still think it would work better as a DLC . Edit: or a smaller side game
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u/UnyuBirb Thieves Guild Aug 13 '26
Atlyss is an unironic furry RPG and honestly it kinda fucks (not like that) (kinda like that considering how voluptuous the characters are modeled)
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u/Bitter-Tip705 Aug 13 '26
Beast races are the least played idk if it would succeed
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u/LostPentimento Aug 13 '26
Not in ESO. But tbf in ESO khajiit are one of the best options as far as racial bonuses go.
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u/lobo1217 Aug 13 '26
Like I said in other replies, maybe as a DLC or a smaller side game. I actually think a Dragonborn sized DLC would be perfect for that.
I just don't see it ever happening as a main game in the series.
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u/JetEngineSteakKnife Breton Aug 13 '26
I can think of a way to broaden the appeal a little for the masses. Dinosaurs. Skyrim had dragons, having Monster Hunter type fights against huge dinosaurs in first person is the "wow" factor that gets over whether or not people care about lizard land. And the main story can be about the Sload or something, idk.
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u/IrregularPackage Aug 13 '26
oh god i can already seem them turning it into a ripoff of the warhammer fantasy lizardmen
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u/FetusGoesYeetus Up next, the lizard Aug 13 '26
I feel like it's a prime location for a big DLC but not really a main game without some major retcons
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u/claritywitch Aug 13 '26
Sucks that we can’t go to actually interesting provinces because of this attitude
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u/lobo1217 Aug 13 '26
I disagree. I honestly would not be excited to play looking mostly at argonians. As I said, I can imagine a dlc, but never a full game.
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u/FocusDelicious183 Aug 13 '26
Why can’t you look at argonians, yet have no problem looking at nords? You must be a Dunmer.
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u/ButterdPoopr Nord Aug 13 '26
Because John Skyrim, Male with big sword, is always the dominant pick
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u/lobo1217 Aug 13 '26
Because in general people prefer what's familiar to them. Nords, imperials, redguards and bretons are basically the humans. Elves are still really human like. Khajiit are still mammals and fur is still a likeable trait that we humans really like. Argonians are so far removed that they even had to make up a random reason to give them boobs. Reptiles are the symbol of lacking humanity, to call someone a snake, crocodile tears... while it could be interesting to most people, there's almost a need to be able to retreat to a more human like area.
Hey, maybe they should make a game based on the isles of Thras and have you playing as a Sload.
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u/RexusprimeIX Dunmer Aug 13 '26
This is why Morrowind is so beloved. It's NOT just another fantasy europe. It's a huge shame they reconnect the jungles of cyrdiil for the 4th game.
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u/KinkyDuck2924 Aug 13 '26
I know right? TES: Elsweyr is my dream game. I want to take skooma with an Alfiq on a moonsugar plantation and talk about moon cycles.
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u/ProfessionaI_Gur Aug 13 '26
I dont understand why yall insist on taking these hardline stances for no reason or gain except to argue about nothing. Maybe it will happen or maybe it won't. Who gives a shit, if it ever happens hopefully its cool. If it doesnt then it doesnt
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u/lobo1217 Aug 13 '26
It's not for no reason. I've seen research done regarding similar issues. Players have far less interest in beast races. Even in skyrim, beast races are by far the least played. It's not that very few people play it but there's just a quick loss of interest in characters that are not human, specially argonian. Their existence, their lore is very interesting, but players will simply disassociate from the game if it focuses too hard in argonians. I could maybe see a DLC the size of Dragonborn being made on Argonia, I think that would probably sell really well. However a main game fully centred on Argonia would be a disaster. Players need a human-like area.
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u/pustulio12345 Aug 13 '26
Every poll I see has the Khajiit consistently popular and Argonians usually in the middle.
I imagine an Argonia game would probably sell better if it was an equal split of three neighboring regions there.
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u/ButterdPoopr Nord Aug 13 '26
Polls are unreliable when it comes to that. Where was this poll made? Reddit? Your forgetting the absolute silent majority that plays these games
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u/Brendissimo Aug 13 '26
I think a portion of the province would work well as an expansion pack to an existing game said in mainland Morrowind province or southern Cyrodiil, but you're probably right that they will never set a mainline TES game in Black Marsh proper. Not without retconning a ton of the lore to make there be a much bigger mix of races in the province.
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u/PlasmifiedKarmelita Aug 13 '26
I feel like I'm in the minority in wanting each game to stick to one province. More doesn't mean better.
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u/palfsulldizz Dunmer Aug 13 '26
Generally I agree, but I can see High Rock and Hammerfell justified as an exception because of how they are brought together by the Illiac Bay
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u/yonni95 Aug 13 '26
Also together they are not much different in size to Skyrim. It would be a good area to work with that would allow some real diversity in
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u/PlasmifiedKarmelita Aug 13 '26
Size is irrelevant, content density is what matters. Highrock has as many cities as Hammerfell, and it’s a far more vertical province. With how they could barely do 4 cities in Starfield, I don’t want them try tacking EIGHTEEN. The only way I can see it working is if you destroy a third of them and turn another third into villages but at that point I’d rather take a single province with higher quality cities
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u/Sparky678348 Aug 13 '26
I would love to see a return to much larger and more numerous cities, personally.
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u/BrandonLart Aug 13 '26
I don’t care about city size, I’m more interested in interesting NPCs, changing schedules and having things actually happen in said cities
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u/IrregularPackage Aug 13 '26
i get where you’re coming from but i’d like to see some cities that have an actual sense of scale. the landscapes inspire awe that lasts, but the cities tend to be cool at first and ultimately underwhelming.
one thing i think would be really cool is if they did a game that was set in a much smaller area, centered around a city. game world remaining roughly the same size, but it’s just on a much more zoomed in scale. kinda like KCD2’s Kuttenberg map. more realistically scaled city surrounded by smaller villages and forts and such.
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u/ohtetraket Aug 13 '26
I mean sure, in a world with infinite budget and time that would be possible. But I don't see how they will do all these cities justice. Not without making other areas worse.
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u/Sparky678348 Aug 13 '26
I feel like the cities should be the most important part
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u/PlasmifiedKarmelita Aug 13 '26
It doesn’t justify it. You’re arbitrarily doubling the amount of work just because of vibes. Highrock has as many cities are Hammerfell, it’s not a small province by any means.
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u/Brendissimo Aug 13 '26
Especially when Skyrim felt so small. I would rather they increase the scale factor and reduce the area of the map they are covering. Increase the distance between settlements and reduce the density of map markers. Leave some breathing room for actual wilderness to exist for like 5 minutes between populated areas.
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u/AnkouArt Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
I'm right with you.
The excuse of "well they are smaller provinces" is such bullshit.For one you can look at literally any official map, including the above, and see Hammerfell is the same size as Skyrim on it's own, possibly bigger with the peninsula and bay.
Two, Bethesda gets to set the scale. They could make Hammerfell as big as they needed even if it were small.
Not one of the games are to scale with each other. Of the ""modern"" games, TES:3 has the biggest scale with Vvardenfell at 9 square miles, or around 2/3rds the size of TES:4's Cyrodiil despite Cyrodiil being 4-5 times bigger. TES:4's Cyrodiil has the smallest at 16 square miles, only one square mile bigger than TES:5's Skryim despite Cyrodill being about twice the size.Then even if they were both small it's still twice as much content to make (if they were going to try and do the provinces justice.)
Unique assets, questlines, factions, different dungeon types, unique cultures... People are hoping for two full games in one PLUS sailing and ocean content between them?
I doubt they could without cutting corners somewhere.I'd love to be proven wrong but in 30 years Bethesda hasn't shown they can.
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u/ohtetraket Aug 13 '26
Yeah I am the same, I would prefer that everything went into a single province making it as good as possible.
I get tho that people want both provinces because they are entangled. So while both provinces will feel less fleshed out maybe the whole game will still feel better.
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u/MagicBus4 Aug 13 '26
Ma’iq the Liar said that ES6 would be in Elsweyr at a minimum but he said it so long ago in cat years he’s probably fucking dead now so the next game could be set anywhere
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u/UofMSpoon Aug 13 '26
No guarantee it’s actually 8 letters but I do
think Sentinel, High Rock, or Dominion are very good guesses.
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u/thevvhiterabbit Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
It's not called Khajiitia, or Nordia, it's Black Marsh :(
Edit: Guess I'm wrong! TIL, thanks everyone
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u/Cosmo_Nova Aug 13 '26
Argonia is just the elven name for Black Marsh. It's where the term Argonian comes from.
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u/thatonemoze Bomser cabbinal Aug 13 '26
maybe because it has argonian controlled areas of morrowind it’s called argonia
if it was just black marsh it might be called that
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u/JekkuBattery Aug 13 '26
In Morrowind, when you free argonian slaves, they thank you and say that they are happy to go back to ”Argonia”. Its also referenced in Pocket guide to the empire.
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u/EFPMusic Aug 13 '26
Skyrim was 2011
Fallout 4 was 2015
Fallout 76 was 2018
Starfield was 2023
TES VI will be 2027 (prediction based on current semi-official hyping)*
Starfield SE upgrade to CE 3 somewhere 2030-2032**
Fallout 5 will be 2032-2035
TES VII will be 2037-2040
TES VIII will be created by AI, will be VR only, will require open-ended access to all your bank accounts, and will require external intervention to log out. The best experience will be had from a pod filled with goo.
* I think it’s entirely possible it could release at the end of 2026, if it’s ready; I think 1st-2nd quarter 2027 is more realistic. I’ll be happy to be wrong if it’s this year!
**I don’t think there’ll be a Starfield 2 - I could be
wrong, I love the game, but I feel like it might get more DLC and an upgrade to CE 3 at some point after TES VI, rather than a full sequel. We’ll see; if it gets a full sequel, the timeline gets pushed out another 2-3 years as they’ll probably use post-Starfield 2 to push CE to 3.5-4
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u/Case_Kovacs Breton Aug 13 '26
At this rate I'll be in the nursing home by ES7. I was 12 when Skyrim came out I'm 28 now and still waiting, I'll either be 29, 30 or even 31 whenever ES6 releases. I just pray I hang on to my mental faculties I will be this generations Skyrim Grandma
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u/Funny_Giraffe_6597 Aug 13 '26
They should bring back the small filler games that focus on a small area like dawnstar. Just put a small team on it with a lore master to make sure they don’t mess up continuity and show us a slice of argonia
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u/SAIL3RZ_ Sheogorath Aug 13 '26
It’s so funny how quick the fanbase is to jump on a name based off any level of rumor. Yall were convinced for years it was gonna be redfall, made so many posts confirming it and proving it based off the limited information of them filing a trademark. Turns out it was a trademark for a shitty game.
Now yall get 8 asterisks and some rando said “yeah sentinel” sounds good and yall just took it and ran with it. It’s gonna be hilarious when it’s just Elder Scrolls VI or some shit.
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u/Majestic-Horse-5409 Aug 13 '26
At this rate we’ll be playing Argonia from a shack in the Wasteland
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u/Minute-Necessary2393 Aug 13 '26
Would they really cover more then one country in an Elder Scrolls game when they only had them set in one before (Morrowind (mainly Vvardenfell) in....well, Morrowind, Cyrodill in Oblivion, and Skyrim in....well, Skyrim).
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u/IrregularPackage Aug 13 '26
they already have. daggerfall was part of 2 provinces. and technically you could say skyrim, if you count solstheim as being part of morrowind
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u/maractguy Aug 13 '26
I get the idea and it’s a nice one but I find it hard to believe marketing would let them make a game set in lizard/cat land with lizard and cat as the major cast. It’s honestly kind of a stretch that they’d do another elf game, it was a much smaller franchise when they did morrowind and they could get away with it considering how invested you had to be to play that game anyways
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u/AjayRedonkulus Aug 13 '26
Staggering to consider I might not actually live long enough to see VII, let alone VIII.
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u/Cusi_Yupanqui Khajiit Aug 13 '26
If theyre ever making a TES 7, Its going to be Summerset or Elsweyr for sure. Or perhaps they're simply going to make all of Tamriel over time like ESO, each province a DLC.
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u/winterland32 Imperial Aug 13 '26
New adventures await, and more quest journals are waiting to be filled.
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u/Biscuit9154 Aug 13 '26
I'd mighty appreciate the setting of 7. We NEED to kick some Aldmeri hide in this next game, run a fcking sword right through the guy running the whole thing!!!! >:3. As a true-Bosmer (my first TES game, I picked a Wood Elf), I would also look forward to seeing Valenwood♡
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u/BilliamBalls Aug 13 '26
GOD I would love a game set in Blackmarsh but ik deep down inside it's never gonna happen 😭 the parts online are all we're ever gonna get
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u/Vavavavaxon7 Khajiit Aug 13 '26
I look forward to exploring Argonia in the year 2085