Good news often comes in threes, and this may be true for today’s fans of Starfield, The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
Xbox studio Bethesda has just revealed a major update on its plans for its three biggest properties, and we sat down with studio director Todd Howard to learn more about what fans can expect.
“We love creating these worlds as much as you love playing them.” the note says. “Today we want to talk about what’s next for Bethesda Game Studios and what you can expect from us in the coming years.”
For forty years, we’ve created games that have entertained nearly half a billion players. These are more than just games, these are entire worlds. Worlds that you can explore, shape and create your own. The worlds we return to together. This is what drives us forward.”
Bethesda said it is investing in “bringing its core teams closer together” to create games faster and support them longer, for “decades to come.”
Here’s an overview of what was announced.
Obsidian is officially returning to Fallout. (Image credit: Obsidian)
- About Fallout: Bethesda has confirmed that it is working on Fallout 5, which is currently in pre-production.
- Bethesda has confirmed my previous message that Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas will receive complete remakes in the future. but did not announce dates.
- Bethesda also confirmed that Obsidian is returning to Fallout with its own spin-off. and said more information would be forthcoming.
- Fall out 76 will receive a “huge” new DLC called Raven Rockwhich will be a prequel to Fallout 3.
- There are plans to add more content to Starfield, with the Starborn DLC on the horizon.and other tools and features to promote Creation Club content. Bethesda says Starfield remains “an important part of our future.”
- Elder Scrolls 6 is developing well, and Todd says the studio is “where they want to be.” about the game’s development timeline, but don’t expect it anytime soon.
- New seasons will continue to appear in Elder Scrolls Onlineand Zenimax Online Studios will be more closely integrated into Bethesda for improved collaboration.
- Elder Scrolls VI is Bethesda’s current main focus., “We are where we planned to be, we love the way it looks and we are playing every day.”
- Much of the anticipation revolves around Creation Engine 3. which Bethesda developed specifically to accelerate the simultaneous development of the franchise and improve the Creation Club tools.
Todd Howard talks to us about Xbox cuts, the enormous respect Obsidian has, and the problems of the video game industry.
As of July 2026, Skyrim has sold over 65 million copies. (Image courtesy of Bethesda Game Studios)
When I got the call that I would be speaking with Todd Howard, I admit I was a little confused. I’ve been doing this for over a decade at this point, and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that this would lead to a formal conversation with one of the gaming industry’s most prominent players.
Todd Howard has helmed Bethesda’s franchises since 1994, but cemented his place in gaming legend with the release of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind back in 2000. The gaming industry looks completely different now than it did back then, but Bethesda has always managed to adapt to changing times.
For me, and I suspect most Xbox loyalists, the biggest concern right now is Microsoft’s huge cuts to its gaming operations, which seem to have fallen disproportionately into ZeniMax’s lap. I asked Howard how he and the team were doing with everything going on.
“Great question” Howard says, looking visibly sad. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, anytime you’ve worked with people for, in some cases, many decades and they’re not here anymore, it’s really very difficult personally and difficult for our teams.”
Todd Howard noted his “tremendous respect” for Obsidian ahead of their next collaboration with Fallout. (Image courtesy of Bethesda Softworks)
Howard mentioned previously difficult times in Bethesda’s history. Bethesda struggled to make it big in the ’90s, and shortly before the firm was acquired by Microsoft, it struggled with a slew of multiplayer and mobile games in an attempt to join the “service games” gold rush, with mixed success.
“We had to change who we were and how we did some things back then. And then we became sort of ZeniMax and did a bunch of stuff, and then we had to change again in 2016. Moving to other studios…how do we support these franchises? And I think we’re in another moment of change in how we support each other and what we do with these games and for our fans.”
Speaking of fans, I couldn’t help but mention Obsidian’s return to Fallout. Obsidian created Fallout New Vegas, one of the most beloved games in the legendary Fallout canon. Fans love its jet-set world and the real choices and consequences that many feel Fallout 4 has moved away from. I asked Todd Howard how the collaboration with Obsidian came about and what he thinks about the online mythology surrounding the supposed rivalry.
“I appreciate the fan chatter, but behind the scenes there is a huge amount of mutual respect (between Bethesda and Obsidian). We always wonder if we can find a way to work together properly. And when things like that come up, I think I definitely look at the franchise as a whole, as you see in the note, everything that’s going on with Fallout.”
Fallout 76 and the Fallout TV show helped Fallout find a new mass audience. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
“You kind of ask, is there a way or a window or a pocket where we could do something together that would actually make sense? And so we’re really excited about the opportunity to work together.”
Todd noted that Obsidian’s workflow mirrors that of Bethesda, whose core team has been working together for decades. I’ve noticed that there are so many legendary Fallout alumni on Xbox right now, including Obsidian’s Tim Kane and InXile’s Brian Fargo. I asked if we’d see more projects popping up in the future, like InXile’s isometric remake of Fallout 1. Howard noted that the Xbox teams are “pretty in sync” and have seen and heard every idea for a Fallout spinoff.
“Sometimes you find your way there and sometimes you don’t, or you make it later. It takes time. You mentioned the Fallout series. And it was a 10-year journey. For me, as the custodian of these things, my number one job is to make sure we serve the franchise the best we can.”
Bethesda worlds are legendary, but long the wait between games was excruciating. (Image courtesy of Bethesda Softworks)
I haven’t had much time with Todd Howard (although I really appreciate it) and many of my questions were simply too far from answered.
I asked Todd Howard whether The Elder Scrolls VI or Fallout 5 would be an Xbox exclusive, given Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s mandate to grow the Xbox hardware ecosystem. He said it was too early to comment. I asked if we could get a launch schedule for Elder Scrolls VI, but again, it seemed like the game was still too far away to have a runway on paper. I asked what engine Obsidian’s Fallout game would use (Unreal or Creation Engine?), but he said more would be revealed later.
I think ultimately Bethesda really wanted to reassure its fans today that the Xbox cuts didn’t kill the studio. We’ve seen other Xbox studios like id Software make statements on this topic, for example, as rumors spread and seasoned employees with years of experience and millions of dollars in sales to their name were let go.
With the memory crisis ongoing, advances in artificial intelligence crippling Microsoft’s finances, and a saturated attention economy, it’s a difficult time for gaming. There’s more content than ever, but there’s also more competition than ever. It sounds like Bethesda is putting everything into making The Elder Scrolls VI another landmark hit for the studio, but we may still be waiting more than a hot minute to get our hands on it.
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