Bethesda is looking at ways to “increase output” on Fallout and The Elder Scrolls

Todd Howard doesn't want to wait a long time for Fallout 5.
The Fallout TV show was a hit, but there won't be anything to tie into it for a long while.
The Fallout TV show was a hit, but there won't be anything to tie into it for a long while. / Amazon

Bethesda’s last game, Starfield, was in development for around eight years. And even the most optimistic among us shouldn’t expect its next big title, The Elder Scrolls 6, to be out until at least early 2026. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was later still. 

That means if you’re waiting for a new Fallout game after binging the TV series on Prime Video, you’re probably looking at close to a decade unless something drastically changes. 

In a recent interview with Kinda Funny, via PC Gamer, Bethesda boss Todd Howard said the studio is looking at ways of increasing its output and reducing the time between major launches. 

"If I didn't make these games," Howard said, "I would just be playing them all the time. Even this weekend I was jumping between Starfield, Fallout 76, and Fallout 4 – that's how I spent my weekend playing games.

"And they do take a long time. One of the things we're focused on is making sure they're of the highest quality, but also finding ways to increase our output, because we don't want to wait that long either. That's never our plan, but we want to make sure we get it right."

Of course, there’s always another option. Now Bethesda and Obsidian are both owned by Microsoft, perhaps we’ll see the RPG masters at Obsidian return to the irradiated wastelands. The team already proved it can do it with Fallout: New Vegas. 

Of course, Obsidian has plenty to work on already, with development underway on The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed, which could be considered homages to Fallout and The Elder Scrolls respectively. 

Hopefully, we get to emerge from the virtual vault again before we’re all turned into dust particles in real life. For now, you’ll have to make do with replaying the best Fallout games


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Kirk McKeand
KIRK MCKEAND

Kirk McKeand is the Content Director for GLHF.  A games media writer and editor from Lincoln, UK, he won a Games Media Award in 2014 in the Rising Star category. He has also been nominated for two Features Writer awards. He was also recognized in MCV's 30 Under 30 list in 2014. His favorite games are The Witcher 3, The Last of Us Part 2, Dishonored 2, Deus Ex, Bloodborne, Suikoden 2, and Final Fantasy 7.  You can buy Kirk McKeand's book, The History of the Stealth Game, in most bookstores in the US and UK.  With a foreword written by Arkane's Harvey Smith, The History of the Stealth Game dives deep into the shadows of game development, uncovering the surprising stories behind some of the industry's most formative video games.  He has written for IGN, Playboy, Vice, Eurogamer, Edge, Official PlayStation Magazine, Games Master, Official Xbox Magazine, USA Today's ForTheWin, Digital Spy, The Telegraph, International Business Times, and more.  Kirk was previously the Editor-in-Chief at TheGamer and Deputy Editor at VG247. These days he works as the Content Director for GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage, serving media partners across the globe.  You can check out Kirk McKeand's MuckRack profile for more.  Email: kirk.mckeand@glhf.gg