Since people say BGS tell us they're not currently working on a game even if they're asked very shortly before announcing it, how do we connect the dots here based on the information they've provided us thus far?

Here is my wild speculation: TES is a great franchise that can't just not have a release for 10+ years, right? Well... what if the "next 2 big games" are actually gonna be released After TES 6?

Hear me out; Todd said "You'll probably hear about these games before TES 6 and it'll make sense why in the future." Well, what if the way it ends up making sense is we get TES 6 in 2017-2019 before any BGS game? or at least 1 game releasing before. I just thought this idea was worth sharing because with a franchise such as Elder Scrolls, it's curious to think of why they would be doing two major games that usually take 4 years to develop before moving to TES 6. Maybe this is their strategy with PR this time around; talk about two games that will come in the future, creating the illusion we need to expect them before the game that is actually being made which we want.

Having said all that, it IS a wild speculation that DOES make sense, altho it could be wrong, and since BGS, gamesas, and Zenimax are all together and there's ESO and ES:Legends, there might actually really just be 2 major games releasing before TES 6. The thing with that, then, is that if each one takes 4 years to make, that's year 2015 or 2016(after FO4 DLC done) +8 years which would be year 2023 when work on TES6 only starts. What seems more likely, that we get TES6 in 2027(4 years to develop the next two big games and then TES6 after them) or that it's the next BGS game to release, arriving in 2017-2019?

ZeniMax Media Inc., Bethesda Softworks, and Bethesda Game Studios will not be releasing The Elder Scrolls VI for sale in 2017 and definitely not in 2018 only in 2019 possibly.

In less than five moths we have E3 2017 and still no information about anything Bethesda Game Studios is developing, not even enough information about the two other AAA video games that are the size of the The Elder Scrolls video games and Fallout video games that they are developing.

My guess is what always points to them releasing The Elder Scrolls VI for sale anywhere from 2019 to 2023.

Bethesda has two studios now. So they can work on two major projects at once.

We will not know what those two projects are until they are ready to release that info likely at an E3 conference especially if they decide to have another showcase event.

I find it is important for Bethesda to develop new IP.

2014: ESO

2016: Skyrim SE

2017: TES Legends

That's three releases in three years.

None of those 3 titles require Bethesda's full development team. ESO is being done by Zenimax, Bethesda's owners, not Bethesda Software Studios. Skyrim SE is simply a set of updates to Skyrim, and only requires a small portion of the development team. TES Legends hardly requires any development effort to repackage existing products.

As often as I disagree with Ballowers100, his assessment that TES VI will LIKELY release anywhere from 2019 to 2023 is probably one of the most reasonable things he's said in a while. It's in all probability too late for a 2017 release, and increasingly unlikely that we'll see it in 2018 unless Bethesda makes some sort of preliminary announcement in the next couple of months. I can't see them delaying a guaranteed "cash cow" past 2023, which would already be an insanely long 12 years between major releases in the series. My bet would be 2019-2020, roughly 7-1/2 to 9 years after Skyrim's late 2011 date.

Of course, given Bethesda's track record of announcements and reliable statements, a conversation with Sheogorath would probably make more sense than anything we've been told so far.

And TES Legends wasn't developed by Bethesda either. It was developed by Dire Wolf Digital.

The thing is, 2019-2023 really isn't in line with BGS doing 2 games bigger than everything they've ever done before Before TES 6.

Unless BGS Montreal is as big as BGS Maryland, in which case 2023 could be realistic given BGS Montreal also work on the big games.

If the montreal team is as big as the maryland team, we can speculate they each would take 3-4 years to make each game.

If that's the case, there could be a new game in 2017-2019, which right now it seems more likely it's strongly leaning towards 2019, and then we could see a new game from the other team in the next 1 or 2 years as they just spend that time expanding on the game they were working on since that way they make a better game without releasing 2 games at the same timeline but taking another year or so and keep working on it and then release it while the other studio is working on TES6, which would bring us to seeing a new game released at say 2019, then a new one at like 2021, then TES6 at 2023. I think given the information we do have, that seems the most likely scenario but if you think it isn't, please share your speculation and the ideas that support it.

If they all work on the same one game at a time, maybe I could see TES6 releasing at 2019, but that would mean we should be seeing 2 big games from BGS before that year, that is pretty crazy even if it's 2020, just because we've only been seeing 1 game every like 4 years with the exception of fallout 3. This speculation doesn't take into full account the fact they're gonna do more mobile games but we can assume that doesn't take more than a few people to have an ongoing project.

They're still Elder Scrolls games.

Whether we "hear about" those other games before TES VI, as has been mentioned, or whether they're released before, are two very different scenarios. As said repeatedly, the information we've been given has been intentionally vague and misleading, with the developers unwilling to even hint at any meaningful timeframe for release. Taking those statements literally seems like bordering on an exercise in futility. It simply makes zero sense for them to wait until 2026 or later to release another installment in the series, and I'd be VERY surprised if we don't get another game by the end of 2021......a decade is "forever" in the entertainment world, which is where video games fall in.

Pete Hines said "there's at least 2 big games from BGS before TES6", so let's say this is false, do you think it's more likely that the next BGS game that will be released will be TES6? Someone said they recently hired someone to work with the creation engine, which in my opinion hints that they're trying to squeeze at least 1 more game from that engine.

The OP is wondering how long will it take Bethesda to put out TES VI. Bringing games made by other developers into such a discussion is irrelevant.

2018 - FO5, Creation Engine

2019 - "Starfield" (New IP, new engine)

2021 - TES:VI (same engine as new IP)

ZeniMax Media Inc., Bethesda Softworks, and Bethesda Game Studios might release Starfield or whatever brand new intellectual property (IP) of a video game for sale in 2018 and possibly on a heavily modified Creation Engine of Fallout 4, then 2019 to 2023 should be The Elder Scrolls VI releasing for sale.

TWO new games. BEFORE TES:Vi.

It would make sense to do Fallout V on the existing engine,since they would then be able to re-use a lot of FO4 assets, saving development time. Meaning they could put the main focus on their new IP, with completely new engine, to serve as the "prototype" for TES:VI

Sorry, yeah I got mixed up with Starfield and the brand new Intellectual Properties (IP's) of video games with The Elder Scrolls Vi.

2018 Starfield or whatever, 2021 the second new video game, and 2023 should be The Elder Scrolls VI.

Oh boy, another debate about when we can expect TES VI . . .

Two years ago I think I told you we would likely see TES VI between 2017 to 2019 but I now agree with you that it is not likely before 2019 and could be as long as 2023. Who knows? It has been over five years now since Skyrim was released, and Bethesda has not said anything to indicate they have any interest in making another Elder Scrolls game any time soon. Looks like you were right all along.

I'm trying to remember here, but didn't people tell me the same thing in late 2012 and in early 2013 when I said they will release Fallout 4 sale in 2015? Everyone was like no they will release Fallout 4 for sale in 2013, then in 2014.

Actually you can go to my profile in my profile in my interests descriptions and read it if you want to.

It's seems easy to know how Bethesda Game Studios works on developing video games and how they might work on with developing two video games simultaneously.

Like Pete Hines said they are not a two-button machine, they release their new video games after they finish developing them for sale like every three years to five years.

Now it looks like the cycle of years to release video games takes probably anywhere from five years to seven years.

Bethesda Game Studios just doesn't have like 10,000+ employees working on developing video games like Ubisoft does or even 1,000+ employees.

I don't know about that. I know I never told you FO4 would be released in 2013 or 2014 because I never expressed an opinion on when FO4 would be released. As much as I enjoyed FO3, I never really had any interest in FO4 and still don't.

I concur!

What do you think is the likelihood of seeing a BGS game before TES 6? I personally don't think they lied that we'll see 2 games. It'd just be really weird, wouldn't it? If the earliest TES 6 estimate is 2019, when do you think the game/s before will be released, unless you think TES 6 is the next BGS game that will be released? I would guess it would be between FO4 and TES6 or whatever game will release around 2019, which would make it 2017. Is it realistic that we will see an announcement of a BGS game this year?

Probably pretty high. Exactly WHAT that game is, well... That's not clear. But we did get a Bethesda release between Skyrim and Fallout 4, in the form of Fallout Shelter (which i'm still playing... Go figure... That game probably has as many hours in it now as Fallout 3 or New Vegas does...).

I doubt a game would not be until late 2018 at the earliest and most likely 2019. Both Bethesda Studios just finished up on projects in the last few months. The main one with Fallout 4 and the Montreal one with Skyrim Remaster. The two projects likely only had a small team working on them until those projects were done. What I heard from Pete and Todd that both those projects are not TES. One of those projects could be a Fallout game, most likely a stand alone using the Fallout 4 engine and reusing whatever assets they can from FO4 to help reduce the time frame for the project. This could be a good project for the Montreal Studio to get more experience using the Creation Engine. One of the projects is likely Starfield since they do have a patent for the name for a few years.

Very high that we will hear announcements of whatever brand new video game Bethesda Game Studios is developing at their E3 2018 conference in 2018.

There is absolutely no way we will hear any announcements in 2017 at all.

You have to remember they announce their video games in three years, four years, to five years when they are about to release their video games for sale.

With Fallout 4 announced and then released five months later Bethesda Softworks and Bethesda Game Studios wants to keep this short time from announcement to releasing for sale their video games.

So 2018 or 2019 is when we should hear anything about whatever video game Bethesda Game Studios is developing.

Oh, I would not go that far to say there won't be any announcements at all. Even if the subject is minor, there is always the possibility of them saying something.

For some reason, I have the urge to say "MULTIPASS!"

There, got it out of my system.

The vague comment about announcing 2 games before TES 6 was vaguely worded to include the possibilty that we'll "hear" about those games before TES 6 is released (which doesn't mean they'll be released before TES 6), the possibility that they'll release both of those games before TES 6, or the possibility that they'll release one before, and announce the other, by the time TES 6 is out. That also doesn't rule out the possibility that Todd Howard is merely blowing smoke, and TES will release long before either of those sees the light of day.

I'm reminded of the vague wording of ancient prophecies, which can cover any of several possibilities. WHEN one of those events eventually occurs, it can be claimed that it was accurately predicted. Don't try to read meanings into something that's intentionally worded to be as meaningless as possible.