There are plenty of games in the works that fans are itching to hear about, but the studios making them just aren't ready to share more information yet. Games like Bayonetta 3, Metroid Prime 4, and Fable have kept fans on the edge of their seats with every passing press conference, but perhaps the most notable games that have gone silent are Grand Theft Auto 6 and The Elder Scrolls 6. Both come from award-winning franchises whose last entries were tentpoles of the video game industry and both series are far overdue for new entries.
Luckily for fans of Bethesda and Rockstar Games, the studios have released other popular games in their various franchises since GTA 5 and Skyrim in 2013 and 2011, respectively. However, now that it's been nearly a decade since both titles released, fans are expecting Grand Theft Auto 6 and The Elder Scrolls 6 soon. Unfortunately, the two games most likely won't be seeing the light of day for another few years, but the question of "how long?" still remains. While there's no solid answer for that, there might be a way to make an educated guess as to which game will release first. As all of this is speculation, remember to take everything below with a grain of salt.
GTA 6 Might Not Release Until 2025
Earlier this week, reliable leaker and industry insider Tom Henderson published a video on his YouTube channel detailing all the information he knows about Grand Theft Auto 6. Among other details such as the game's potential setting and characters, Henderson revealed that fans shouldn't expect GTA 6 to release until 2024 or 2025.
While unfortunate, the information surrounding the game seems to be in line with that timeline. There's not a lot known about Grand Theft Auto 6's development, but it seems like Rockstar is wanting to take its time with its games from now on. After the controversial crunch stories that surfaced following Red Dead Redemption 2's launch, Rockstar has made efforts to improve its workplace culture specifically surrounding crunch. These measures will hopefully help with staff morale and also improve the game in the long run, but it does mean that its development time will increase.
More evidence pointing towards a mid-2020's launch for GTA 6 comes in the form of the scarcity of the most recent generation of consoles. It's no secret that people are still having a hard time getting their hands on PS5's, Xbox Series X's, and PC graphics cards, so perhaps it wouldn't make sense for Rockstar to market a game for consoles that its fans don't have yet. While it's unlikely that this is a major factor contributing to extended development time, it's certainly had a tangential effect. Hopefully, console availability will increase in the coming months, but studios looking to make their next games mega-hits need to play it safe.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Has A Long Way To Go Too
Bethesda has definitely been busy since the release of Skyrim in 2011. Between Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Starfield, and the numerous ports and re-releases of Skyrim, the studio has been doing plenty of work on projects outside of The Elder Scrolls 6. The Elder Scrolls 6's initial reveal during E3 2018 had fans excited for details on the project that seemed to be coming soon. Following its reveal, however, the project went radio silent and there still haven't been any substantial updates on its development.
Alongside The Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield was also announced at E3 2018, and it's since been made clear that Starfield will be Bethesda's main focus until it launches in November 2022. This means that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be on the backburner until then: a full four years after its initial announcement. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Elder Scrolls director Todd Howard said that The Elder Scrolls 6 is still in "the design phase," meaning that the project is still in pre-production, very far off from being done.
It's a good idea for the studio to focus on one game at a time so that quality can come above quantity, but that also results in a much longer wait between games. While it was nice to have confirmation in 2018 that a new Elder Scrolls game was coming, its announcement might have been a little too early. As revealed by Howard in his recent interview, there's still a tremendous amount of work to be done on the title, so updates on it will likely be few and far between.
What Comes First: GTA 6 or Elder Scrolls 6?
It's impossible to say for certain which major release will launch first, as they both seem so far off. That said, Bethesda has had its hands tied with Starfield for quite some time and will continue to make it the priority over The Elder Scrolls until it releases, potentially putting it years behind GTA 6. Since GTA 5 came out, Rockstar's focus has been mainly split between Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA Online, and Red Dead Online. However, Rockstar can presumably focus more on GTA 6, as it doesn't have any major projects coming that have been officially announced.
It's for all of these reasons that GTA 6 is likely to be released sooner than The Elder Scrolls 6. GTA 5's development cycle was around three years, but if Rockstar is planning to ease up on crunch, the cycle for GTA 6 would likely put it a year or two later, right in the anticipated 2024-2025 timeframe. Skyrim also took roughly three years to make, but because Rockstar Games has a head start, so to speak, it will likely pull ahead. Leaks suggest that Grand Theft Auto 6 is well into production, which is more than can be said about The Elder Scrolls 6, which is confirmed to be in its early stages.
As with all leaks and speculation, remember to take the information above with a grain of salt and that if more information about either games surfaces, it could paint a very different picture than what's currently on display. At the end of the day, both titles have been relatively quiet and there's still been no official announcement saying that GTA 6 is even being worked on so anything's possible.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is rumored to be in development for unspecified platforms.