Off the Shelf Media

Elder Scrolls fans have been waiting a long time, and it looks like they will have to wait a little longer. Last month, information began to leak about the possible title drop from Bethesda Game Studios and was confirmed this month by the studio itself.

This year marks forty years of gaming from the studio that has become a juggernaut within the industry. You can find the video below, but those in a pinch for time can fast-forward to the 7:20 mark to find the announcement.

For those not keeping track, the first teaser announcement for The Elder Scrolls VI came at E3, which has since shut down, in 2018. After eight years of waiting myself, many fans expected a little something more from the studio than the title. So what information can be taken from a few seconds of a new teaser trailer?

What do we know?

We have, at the least, a confirmed setting. Sentinel is a major city within Hammerfell, which confirms previous speculation from the original teaser posted in 2018.

Long-time fans of the game will be familiar with the setting, as The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall was partially set in northwestern Hammerfell and southern High Rock. So at least one city will get a second look, although much of the game was procedurally generated and to this day remains one of the largest game worlds ever created.

The extent of the map still remains unknown, but it is relatively safe to assume the game will have a greater focus on Hammerfell as a whole. What that looks like might change over the course of gameplay.

Before the short teaser ends, there is a quote given: “The scroll offered only a shimmer, a veil thinly lifted to my eyes. A future lost. A victory undone. Sands of time scattered by fate,” said by Yazar, Moth Priest of High Queen Iradne of Hammerfell (4E 206).

Obviously, that information seems vague; intentionally, I am sure so as to not reveal too much but a lot can be extracted from it. The biggest focus seems to be on the actual Elder Scrolls themselves, of which little is known. It was not until The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion that they actually made an appearance in-game. So while the focus of the games seems to have more to do with the start of the title, the ending information for the quote is also revealing.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim takes place in 4E 201, meaning this quote is only five years after the events of Skyrim. I would suspect dragons to make a comeback, as well as the geopolitical issues of the time. The Aldmeri Dominion’s expansion will most likely be a driving plot device, as players saw it drive a lot of the conflict between the Empire and Skyrim’s native population.

What can we speculate?

So while fans were not given anything in terms of gameplay and only a snippet of more information, Bethesda is setting another high bar for themselves. Sentinel will have to continue story elements from Skyrim because of the timing they revealed. It will have to focus on answering a lot of the mystery around the Elder Scrolls, which have only been touched on in the last two games; I might expect to see some time-travel elements in the gameplay itself.

They also picked a setting with a massive map. Not only was Daggerfall big, but the country of Hammerfell might be larger than Skyrim and close to Cyrodiil in terms of landmass. It becomes a lot closer, including the surrounding islands and ocean. Unfortunately, that leaves everyone still waiting after 8 years, and it has only offered a single word added to the title.

It might seem disheartening, but there is a lesson to be learned from the many titles that were overhyped before launch and rushed before actually being completed. Bethesda itself had a soft launch for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered that was surrounded by leaks, which I believe were intentional, before its launch. It ended up working before, so I can only hope the same will be said for Sentinel.