Hey everyone, I know the feeling all too well. We've been living off that one, vague teaser trailer for Elder Scrolls 6 since 2018. It's 2026 now, and the wait since Skyrim has stretched to a staggering 15 years. I find myself, like so many of you, scrolling through forums and social media, desperate for any crumb of news. In this news vacuum, we've all started looking in the same place for clues: Bethesda's most recent epic, Starfield. It's not Tamriel, but it's built on the same tech—Creation Engine 2. So, I've been diving deep, trying to see what our future in Hammerfell (or wherever!) might look like through the lens of the Settled Systems.
The community's ingenuity never ceases to amaze me. I saw this incredible post from a fan, pushing Starfield's graphics to their absolute limit in Photo Mode. The results? Honestly, breathtaking. We're talking about character models bathed in dramatic, cinematic lighting that makes you stop and stare. Now, I'm fully aware that the lush, fantasy aesthetic of The Elder Scrolls will be worlds apart from Starfield's NASA-punk. But here's the thing that gets me excited: this isn't about the art style. It's a raw showcase of what the Creation Engine 2's skeleton is capable of when you really stress it. It's like peeking at the engine's potential muscle before the artists drape it in elven silks and dwemer metal.
Let's talk about that engine for a second. The jump from Fallout 4 to Starfield was significant, right? Smoother animations, denser environments, and that sense of scale. I remember booting up Starfield in 2023 and being genuinely impressed by the visual fidelity in places. So, it's natural to assume that Elder Scrolls 6 will represent another leap. A fellow fan put it perfectly: they expect it to be like "going from Fallout 4 to Starfield" all over again. Bethesda will have had years more to refine, optimize, and learn from player feedback. The foundation is there, and it's a solid one.
Of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows (or nebulas and stars). We have to address the elephant in the room: the characters. Don't get me wrong, Starfield has its moments, but many of us shared that feeling... the "dead eyes staring at my soul" from some NPCs. 😅 It's a classic Bethesda critique that has followed them for generations. For a world as immersive and dialogue-heavy as The Elder Scrolls, this is the single biggest area where I need to see improvement. It's not just about static beauty; it's about life, expression, and believability in motion. The conversations, the bar fights, the random dragon attacks—they all need characters that feel alive. This, more than pure graphical horsepower, is my personal wishlist for the next game.
So, where does that leave us in 2026? Patient. Impatient. A mix of both. The silence from Bethesda is, frankly, deafening. We get rumors—like that one last month about a trailer being "in the works"—but nothing concrete. The logical part of my brain knows Starfield released not long ago, and a project of this magnitude takes time, especially if they want to get it right. The fan part of my brain, the one that has spent 15 years exploring every inch of Skyrim, is screaming for just a little something. An artwork. A location name. Anything!
In the meantime, we have this fascinating proxy. Starfield is our crystal ball, albeit a fuzzy one. By examining its strengths and its shortcomings, we're not just passing the time. We're building a collective understanding of the tools Bethesda will use to craft our next adventure. We're setting our expectations, both technical and artistic.
It's a unique kind of fandom, this long vigil. We analyze screenshots, debate engine capabilities, and dream of the day we can finally create a new character. Will it be worth the wait? Looking at what Creation Engine 2 can do when pushed, and dreaming of what a focused, fantasy-themed iteration could achieve, I choose to believe it will be. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go boot up Starfield again, find some dramatic lighting, and imagine my Argonian standing there instead. The wait continues, but at least we have a galaxy to explore while we dream of Tamriel.