The Next Elder Scrolls Game Probably Won’t Be On PlayStation

Oliver Brandt
·2 min read

Skyrim early town

The next Elder Scrolls game, tentatively titled The Elder Scrolls VI, is likely to be years off at this point, with some in the industry expecting it could launch in 2026 or later. Given developer Bethesda was acquired by Xbox maker Microsoft in 2021, many have been wondering if the upcoming game – which was announced before the acquisition – would be coming to PlayStation as well. We finally seem to know, and it’s not great news for PS5 owners.

Documents revealed as part of the FTC’s court case against Microsoft have revealed that not only is the next Elder Scrolls game still at least three years off, it’s also going to be an Xbox exclusive. One of the documents released shows a chart, as reported by The Verge, listing upcoming games in development across parent company ZeniMax’s studios.

Games like Starfield and Redfall are there, both listing Xbox exclusivity as they eventually were, but so is The Elder Scrolls VI, and that, unfortunately, is listed as an Xbox exclusive too. That’s not really particularly surprising, given Microsoft is making a big push to boost Xbox purchases, but it will be disappointing for PlayStation fans.

The Elder Scrolls series actually has a pretty fascinating history with Xbox exclusivity. The third game in the series, subtitled Morrowind, was available on both PC and the original Xbox, while its follow-up Oblivion remained a PC and Xbox 360 exclusive for a year before eventually launching on the PS3.

Skyrim was the only game that really bucked the trend, having been released on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on the same day, November 11, 2011. Since then, no new main series Elder Scrolls games have been released, although Skyrim has been ported to just about every platform under the sun in the years since, with various deluxe and enhanced editions along the way.

The news comes alongside a host of leaked documents from Microsoft earlier in the week, in which an all-digital Xbox Series X refresh was also leaked. The new console uses less power and comes with a sleek, rounded design, but drops the disc drive — something that’s caused a bit of a stir among gamers.