Bethesda confirm they are now moving on from SKYRIM

Bethesda have confirmed that they have completed their release schedule for Skyrim, the fifth title in the Elder Scrolls series. Work is now underway on their next game, which will most likely be Fallout 4 based on the company's previous comments.

The news surprised some people, first for suggesting that work on the next game was not further advanced than it appears to be: Fallout 4's release had been anticipated for 2014, if not a surprise release for late 2013, as Bethesda had indicated that their next game would be on the current-gen Creation Engine that Skyrim also used. This news hints that Fallout 4 (assuming it is their next game) will not be out until a lot later and will either use a new engine or the current one will be tweaked for next-gen systems (given the impressive scalability of the engine on high-end PCs, this is possible).

More surprising is the indication that Skyrim's expansion cycle is complete. Bethesda had suggested that their DLC (downloadable content) packs for Skyrim would be substantial in size and quality. However, they only released one such substantial expansion with Dragonborn. The first DLC, Dawnguard, was a relatively short adventure, whilst the second, Hearthfire, only added a few cosmetic tweaks to the game. Rumours had abounded that two more substantial DLCs were planned. If this was true, they clearly have now been abandoned.

Whilst we are unlikely to see Elder Scrolls VI for another five or six years, hardcore fans will get to play The Elder Scrolls Online before the end of this year. An MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online has been developed by Bethesda's sister company, Zenimax Online Studios, but (personally speaking) looks rather underwhelming at this point.