How ESO Could Confirm The Elder Scrolls 6’s Setting

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How ESO Could Confirm The Elder Scrolls 6's Setting

Highlights

  • The Elder Scrolls 6 remains in development with little info available 6 years after its announcement.
  • The limited presence of Hammerfell in Elder Scrolls Online may be linked to TES 6.
  • It’s possible that Bethesda has deprioritized Hammerfell in ESO for TES 6’s sake, but nothing is confirmed.

As a die-hard Elder Scrolls fan with 20+ years of Tamriel exploration under my belt, I can’t help but feel a twinge of anticipation every time a new piece of information about The Elder Scrolls 6 surfaces. After all, we’ve been waiting six long years for an official update since that tantalizing E3 2018 teaser!

Six years have passed since the initial sneak peek of The Elder Scrolls 6 was unveiled at E3 2018, and there hasn’t been much information disclosed about the game so far. Given Skyrim’s immense popularity, many anticipated that The Elder Scrolls 6 would be released by now, but it’s still nowhere near launch. Bethesda Game Studios has been engrossed in other projects for several years, which means they haven’t started serious production on TES 6 until very recently, following the release of Starfield in 2023. This suggests that the next major title in The Elder Scrolls series might not be available until the late 2020s or possibly even the early 2030s.

Enthusiasts eager for fresh news on The Elder Scrolls 6 have spent their time concocting theories and ideas about the upcoming action RPG’s appearance. A topic that gamers have pondered for years in relation to TES 6 is its location, as every mainline game so far has been set in a specific province within the fictional continent of Tamriel, such as Cyrodiil in TES 4: Oblivion or Skyrim in TES 5: Skyrim. Given this pattern, fans have ventured educated guesses about where The Elder Scrolls 6 might be set by scrutinizing possible hints and teases scattered throughout the franchise’s earlier releases. One of these clues could potentially be found within The Elder Scrolls Online.

One Aspect of The Elder Scrolls Online Could Clue Fans in on TES 6’s Setting

The Elder Scrolls Online Has Oddly Overlooked One Major Region in Tamriel

Since its launch in 2014, The Elder Scrolls Online has continually been enriched through annual expansions and additional DLCs. Given the vastness of the game’s setting, Exploration within Tamriel, the fictional continent where ESO is set, extends across its entirety. Zenimax Online Studios regularly introduces new zones and locations to be explored. Several of Tamriel’s nine provinces have been prominently showcased in the game, with expansions dedicated entirely to specific regions like Elsweyr, Summerset Isles, and Morrowind.

As a dedicated fan, I can’t help but notice the scarcity of attention given to one particular province in The Elder Scrolls Online – Hammerfell. This vast region, renowned for being the ancestral home of the valiant Redguards, lies on Tamriel’s western flank, neighboring Cyrodil, Skyrim, and High Rock. Hammerfell is a land of breathtaking diversity, encompassing jungles, swamps, grasslands, and deserts. Despite its rich potential for expansion within ESO, Hammerfell has been given a relatively small role in the game. The province has only made a brief appearance in the 2016 DLC, The Thieves’ Guild, which unfolds on Hew’s Bane, an arid peninsula nestled in the southernmost tip of Hammerfell.

Hammerfell’s Limited Presence in ESO Could Be Related to The Elder Scrolls 6

In more than eight years since the release of an expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online, Hammerfell has not been revisited. This might be connected to the announcement of TES 6, which came two years after the launch of The Thieves’ Guild. If the next major Elder Scrolls game is focused on Hammerfell, it’s plausible that Bethesda Game Studios asked Zenimax Online to steer clear of exploring the region extensively to avoid potential overlaps with TES 6. This could be why Hammerfell has not been thoroughly explored in The Elder Scrolls Online so far, if this theory holds true.

As a dedicated gamer immersed in the vast world of Tamriel, I can’t help but notice the scarcity of Hammerfell in recent iterations of The Elder Scrolls series. In fact, it’s been quite some time since we last delved into this vibrant province, with the last mainline game to feature Hammerfell being The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall. Given its rich history and unique landscapes, I firmly believe that Hammerfell would make an excellent setting for The Elder Scrolls 6. Now, I’m not saying it’s a done deal, but with the province’s conspicuous absence in The Elder Scrolls Online, it certainly seems like Hammerfell could be a strong contender for the location of our next adventure.

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2024-08-17 22:04