The Elder Scrolls 6, announced by Bethesda in 2018, is now at least two years away from release as of August 2026 [1, 2, 3]. Xbox’s recent mass layoffs, totaling about 1,600 job cuts this year with plans for another 1,600 later, have disrupted development at Bethesda and lowered morale [2].
Bethesda undertook layoffs primarily among teams working on The Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76, but some developers on The Elder Scrolls 6 were affected as well [1, 2]. An unnamed Bethesda developer said there is "a fear that we are going to be replaced by cheaper, contracted labor, or we will hire folks to replace them that will need to be onboarded (our tools are proprietary, other devs aren’t going to know how they work) resulting in more delays, and we’ll need to crunch to make up the time" [3]. Another developer added that "colleagues are already being asked to train new contractors" [3].
Bethesda CEO Todd Howard acknowledged the game remains a long way from release. He noted, "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," though recent builds remain unstable [1, 2]. Bethesda continues to prioritize its strongest franchises including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout despite the internal reorganization triggered by layoffs [2].
Sources estimate the total development time for The Elder Scrolls 6 could approach a decade, comparable to long cycles for titles like Final Fantasy XV [1]. Bethesda and Xbox have not provided major public updates recently, reflecting slow but ongoing progress on TES6 [1].
In July 2026, Bethesda’s layoffs mainly impacted Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 teams, with some TES6 staff departures reported [1, 2, 3]. In August, journalist Jason Schreier stated during a Bloomberg live Q&A that the game is still at least two years away from release [1, 2].
