Bethesda has been notably quiet aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6ever since the game was announced at E3 2018. Fans have speculated that the next game might be set in Hammerfell, High Rock, or even the lost continent of Yokuda. With Bethesda working onStarfield, a new RPG set for release before the nextElder Scrolls, it may be a while before the studio confirms even the most basic details about the game’s setting or story.
Wherever the next game is set, there’s one series staple that should be dropped from the story to make Nirn feel like a living, changing world. Based on developments inSkyrim, this change might be more likely to come inThe Elder Scrolls 6than any previous games in the franchise.
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The Changing Face of Tamriel
Skyrimbrought some big changes toTamriel. The first four main games in the franchise all took place towards the end of the Third Era, under the reign of Emperor Uriel Septim the Seventh. Over the course of the events ofThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion,the Septim Dynasty that started with Tiber Septim - AKA Talos - came to an end.Skyrimtakes place in 4E 201, two centuries after the end of the Oblivion Crisis. This allowed Bethesda to explore far greater changes in the political landscape of Tamriel than seen before.
The two centuries prior toSkyrim’s start saw the eruption of the Red Mountain and the near-total destruction of Vvardenfell, the setting ofMorrowind. TheArgonians invaded Morrowindfrom the south, while the Thalmor rose to power in the Summerset Isles and founded the Third Aldmeri Dominion.
The Dominion took control of Valenwood and Elsweyr and went to war with the Empire’s fledging Mede Dynasty. In 4E 175 the White-Gold Concordat brought an end to the Great War between the Empire and the Dominion, with Talos worship banned across the continent. In response to the terms of the Concordat, theSkyrim Civil Warbroke out, and when the Redguard of Hammerfell continued fighting, the Empire was forced to give up Hammerfell as an Imperial province.
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The Elder Scrolls 6: A New World
DuringSkyrim’s Dark Brotherhoodquestline, the Emperor Titus Mede the Second is assassinated by the player. By the end ofSkyrim’s story, the Empire that existed at the end ofOblivionhas lost much of Morrowind, and all of Valenwood, Elsweyr, the Summerset Isles, Hammerfell, and the Emperor himself. With the Empire standing in as a rough equivalent of the Roman Empire, Tamriel appears to be on the cusp of entering the Dark Ages, with the continent fracturing into warring factions along pre-Imperial lines.
The total collapse of the Empire would be a great starting point forThe Elder Scrolls 6. For a start, it may be a necessity - the Empire’s collapse would help patch over the outcome of Skyrim’s Civil War regardless of which side the player chose. Second, it would make the world of Nirn feel like it could undergo real change, especially sinceThe Elder Scrolls Onlinerevealed that Tamriel was very similar in the Second Era in terms of technology and culture, a millennium beforeSkyrim.
Players could find themselves fighting for totally new factions. The Empire’s collapse could even explain some citizens of Tamriel fleeing in search of new lands if the next game is set outside of the continent. Most importantly, it would render the world ofThe Elder Scrolls 6totally unfamiliar, once again making it feel worthy of exploration nearlya decade afterSkyrim’s release, and nearly seven years sinceESOopened up much more of Tamriel for exploration. Much ofSkyrimpoints to the Empire’s imminent collapse. Now,The Elder Scrolls6 needs to deliver the killing blow to breathe new life into its world.
