Greg Miller finally got Todd Howard to sit down for a proper catch-up, and this time we walked away with something concrete about The Elder Scrolls 6. After years of silence and endless Skyrim replays, there is now clear confirmation about what is powering Bethesda’s next major RPG.
Real Movement on TES6
More than six years have passed since that short teaser appeared. For a long time, the project felt abstract. That changed during the recent livestream. Howard confirmed that most of the studio is now focused directly on The Elder Scrolls 6, and that he personally spends the majority of his time on it. Bethesda does not shift its core team lightly.
The key update is simple: the game is playable internally. Not a concept or a marketing slice, but a build the team actively runs and tests. Howard mentioned they are approaching a major milestone. In development terms, that usually means core systems are functioning together in a stable build. Combat, traversal, AI, and world simulation need to operate as one before production fully scales.
Creation Engine 3 Is Now the Base
The technical headline is the engine. Bethesda has spent several years upgrading its technology from Creation Engine 2, which powered Starfield, to Creation Engine 3.
This version will support The Elder Scrolls 6 and future projects. It is the studio’s long-term framework. Howard explained that the team has reworked world systems, rendering, and loading behavior. Previous Bethesda titles often struggled with visible texture pop-in, delayed asset streaming, and frequent loading transitions.
The focus now is on delivering high-detail assets directly in front of the camera without obvious delay. That points to improvements in streaming pipelines and memory management. For an open world RPG built around exploration, that directly affects responsiveness and immersion.
Creation Engine has always prioritized systemic simulation, NPC routines, physics interactions, object persistence, and mod support, which defined its identity. The challenge has been modernizing the visual and technical layer without sacrificing that depth. Creation Engine 3 is positioned as that upgrade.
Reflecting on Starfield and Fallout 76
Howard described Starfield and Fallout 76 as creative detours from the classic Bethesda structure players associate with The Elder Scrolls and earlier Fallout titles. Starfield focuses heavily on procedural generation and segmented planetary exploration. Fallout 76 introduced an online-first structure that changed quest design and world interaction.
Bethesda looks ready to pull things back in for The Elder Scrolls 6. Instead of another sprawling experiment, the focus seems to be on a single, unified world you can actually learn and understand over time.
Milestones Without a Date
No release window was provided. That aligns with Bethesda’s usual communication style. Discussion around The Elder Scrolls 6 now includes engine versions, system rewrites, and playable builds. That signals a move from the concept phase to full production.
Bethesda is still updating Starfield and Fallout 76, but most of the studio’s resources are now directed at The Elder Scrolls 6. Creation Engine 3 is being treated as a full step forward for the company’s tech stack. A new engine version does not automatically translate into a better game, yet it does give the team more flexibility and fewer technical limits when shaping the final design.