Elder Scrolls 6: The Pros and Cons of a Starfield-Sized Open World

Elder Scrolls 6: The Pros and Cons of a Starfield-Sized Open World

Key Takeaways

  • The Elder Scrolls 6 may benefit from a larger, Starfield-sized open world to improve exploration.
  • A larger open world in The Elder Scrolls 6 could risk feeling empty and barren if not executed properly.
  • Crafting a successful open world as vast as Starfield’s is challenging but not impossible for The Elder Scrolls 6.

As a gamer who has spent countless hours traversing the vast landscapes of Bethesda’s open-world masterpieces, I can’t help but ponder the implications of The Elder Scrolls 6 adopting a Starfield-sized open world. It’s a tantalizing prospect that could potentially elevate the series to new heights, or it might lead us down a path littered with barren planets and empty spaces.


Bethesda games have often been defined by their emphasis on exploration, particularly in their prominent series such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. These games are built around an open-world structure that makes discovering secret spots, valuable treasures, unanticipated interactions, and rich background details a rewarding experience as you venture to the farthest corners of their maps. Following the successes of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and Starfield, there’s a high expectation for The Elder Scrolls 6 in terms of scale, with Starfield potentially serving as the benchmark it needs to surpass.

If The Elder Scrolls 6 were to adopt the scope of Starfield’s open world as a benchmark, it would bring both advantages and disadvantages. Starfield’s open world has improved significantly after some major updates, but it also has areas that need improvement. Therefore, if The Elder Scrolls 6 were to follow in Starfield’s footsteps with its vastness, it would present equal merits and challenges, creating a compelling argument for and against the potential size of the next Elder Scrolls game being comparable to Starfield’s.

The Pros and Cons of The Elder Scrolls 6 Having a Starfield-Sized Open World

Pro: A Larger Map Would Potentially Allow for an Even Richer Open World

It’s clear that the open world of The Elder Scrolls 6 won’t be able to surpass Starfield in terms of sheer size, considering Starfield features approximately 1,700 planets across 120 distinct solar systems. However, The Elder Scrolls 6 could theoretically match Starfield’s scale by boosting the density of its open world. This means filling its game world with more content to compensate for the vastness of Starfield, potentially reaching a point where the two are comparable in proportion. Due to the expansiveness of Starfield, its content is spread quite thinly. Therefore, increasing the density of The Elder Scrolls 6’s open world could, over time, make it as large as Starfield relative to its content.

In the expansive open world of Starfield size for The Elder Scrolls 6, exploration could significantly surpass Skyrim’s acclaimed open-world design, which remains a benchmark in the genre. Essentially, Skyrim serves as the standard that The Elder Scrolls 6 must meet, and enlarging the open world would be an excellent first step towards achieving this goal. Within this larger open world, players might uncover a broader variety of secrets to discover, as well as more factions, increased verticality, and side quests that are more captivating than those found in Skyrim.

Con: A Larger Open World Could Feel Barren if Not Executed Properly

A key issue when creating a world as expansive as Starfield’s is making sure it feels rich and engaging instead of empty or repetitive. With so much space available on its map, there’s a higher risk that areas may seem dull or uninteresting. Unfortunately, this seems to be an issue encountered with Starfield’s open world, despite boasting numerous planets and solar systems. As players delve deeper into the game, they might start to notice a sameness among the planets, as many of them offer little new content, diminishing the excitement of exploring further into the universe.

In the expansive open world reminiscent of Starfield, the exploration potential for The Elder Scrolls 6 could significantly surpass that of Skyrim, a game widely recognized as a remarkable milestone in open-world design and still often used as a benchmark within its genre.

It’s often challenging and almost unavoidable when it comes to creating a vast open world like the one in Starfield, as keeping players engaged and surprised even after investing hundreds of hours can be extremely difficult. Given this, if The Elder Scrolls 6 were to match Starfield’s scale, it might face similar problems, attracting the same criticisms once more. Since Bethesda wants The Elder Scrolls 6 to stand out from its recent games, opting for such a large open world may not be the wisest choice.

Despite the difficulties, creating an expansive open world like Starfield’s isn’t unattainable; it’s merely extremely tough. Yet, The Elder Scrolls 6 might rise to this challenge, stunning its audience with an unexpected twist.

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2024-11-28 20:43