ESRB RATING: Mature with Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence. Gaming YouTuber Shirley Curry is being immortalized in Bethesda's 'The Elder Scrolls 6' as an NPC. During a video celebrating 25 years of the 'Elder Scrolls' franchise, Bethesda revealed.
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If there's one game that's probably on most gamers' wishlist, it's Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda is keeping incredibly tight-lipped on the topic however, especially regarding where the Elder Scrolls 6 location would be.
Whether it's Valenwood or Argonia, there's been plenty of speculation as to what the Elder Scrolls 6 setting will be. And now, following Bethesda dropping the teaser trailer at this year's E3, there's even more speculation about where the upcoming game might be set.
Here we take a look at the possibilities and top fan favourites for the Elder Scrolls 6 locations.
A brief history of Elder Scrolls
Of course, the location for the game is more than just a setting, it also gives us an idea of what the game's called.
For example, Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall was set across the High Rock and Hammerfell provinces, while Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind took you to the island of Vvardenfell.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was set in Cyrodil and finally Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took us to… well, Skyrim.
All these locations were featured in the original game, Elder Scrolls Arena. It's the only Elder Scrollsgame to date to allow you to explore the full empire of Tamriel, but sadly because it was 1994 it was very basic and repetitive.
The original map from Elder Scrolls Arena looks something like this:
In fact, this awesome map from a Reddit user sums up where the events of all the Elder Scrolls events have taken place so far:
All the events of every Elder Scrolls game since have taken place within Tamriel, so it's safe to believe that it'll be the same for Elder Scrolls VI.
With that in mind, here are all the potential Elder Scrolls 6 locations currently up for games within Tamriel.
Elder Scrolls VI: High Rock
Location: One of the more popular fan theories at the moment is that the Elder Scrolls 6 location could be at High Rock. Bordering Hammerfell (see below) and Skyrim, you'll mainly find Bretons of the Tamrielic Empire here. It's a land of powerful mages where children are tested early for magical potential.
Likelihood: Unlikely.
Most of the weight of this theory seems to fall on the fact that the E3 trailer had rocks in it. So, High Rock, because rocks. But hey, sometimes it really is that simple — and the Elder Scrolls 6 developers may want us to be able to work it out.
It's a smaller area than the others, which is probably at odds with the growing worlds that Bethesda can create. But who knows what kind of wizardry Bethesda can pull off with sizes and surrounding areas?
Also at odds with this theory is the saying within the Elder Scrolls universe that once you've visited two High Rock towns, you have an understanding of the country as a whole. Bethesda will want more diversity in its flagship game, but again, who knows what wizardry it'll be able to pull off?
Elder Scrolls VI: Valenwood
Location: Valenwood is a south-western province of Tamriel, west of Elsweyr, south-west of Cyrodiil and east of the Abecean Sea.
Home to the Wood Elves or Bosmer, this is a largely uninhabited forest wilderness. The coastlines are dominated by mangrove swamps and rain forests.
Likelihood: Strong.
Valenwood is one of the spots in Tamriel that Bethesda hasn't yet explored in the Elder Scrolls series beyond Arena.
However, there's also a purportedly leaked memo from within Bethesda back in 2014 that supports a Valenwood location.
The memo allegedly prohibited Bethesda employees from 'using or referencing' a number of terms. These included Fallout: Nuka World, which ended up being part of a Fallout 4 DLC release, Elder Scrolls 6 or something known as Project Greenheart.
Many believe that Project Greenheart is the codename for Elder Scrolls 6 because Greenheart is a city found in the Valenwood region.
Coincidence? Probably not.
Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr
Location: Elsweyr is a region of Tamriel bordered by Valenwood on the west, Cyrodiil to the north and east and Argonia to the east.
Elder Scrolls 6 Video Game
The province is separated into two nations: Anequina to the north and Pelletine to the South. Anequina is a desert-like badlands similar to Hammerfell. Pelletine, on the other hand, is a mixture of dense jungles and woodlands like Valenwood.
It's the home of the feline race of Elder Scrolls, the Khajiit.
Likelihood: Possible.
Bethesda has regularly said that the setting of Elder Scrolls games tends to be based on which province has the most lore.
There's plenty of information about Elsweyr in the previous games, so could be a great base to build Elder Scrolls 6.
Elder Scrolls VI: Hammerfell
Location: Hammerfell is a vast province to the west of Tamriel. The region is bordered by High Rock to the north, Skyrim to the north-east and Cyrodiil to the east and south-east.
It's a massive region that's covered by mountain ranges, grasslands and even deserts – just for that real mix of terrains.
The Redguards call Hammerfell their home, who are a race of men known for their cunning and skilled swordsmanship.
Likelihood: Strong.
The only issue with Hammerfell being a potential location for Elder Scrolls 6 is that it was partially featured in Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall.
However, at E3 2018, Bethesda released the first teaser trailer for the game, revealing few details beyond a sweeping view of a mountainous region. This could indicate that Hammerfell will be the location for the upcoming sequel.
Hammerfell is an absolutely massive region so there's plenty more that Elder Scrolls 6 could explore.
Elder Scrolls VI: Argonia
Location: The Black Marsh, known also as Argonia, is a region in the south-east of Tamriel. It's bordered by Morrowind to the north, Cyrodiil to the west and protected by both the Topal Sea and the Padomaic Ocean.
It's a smaller area than the others, which is probably at odds with the growing worlds that Bethesda can create. But who knows what kind of wizardry Bethesda can pull off with sizes and surrounding areas?
Also at odds with this theory is the saying within the Elder Scrolls universe that once you've visited two High Rock towns, you have an understanding of the country as a whole. Bethesda will want more diversity in its flagship game, but again, who knows what wizardry it'll be able to pull off?
Elder Scrolls VI: Valenwood
Location: Valenwood is a south-western province of Tamriel, west of Elsweyr, south-west of Cyrodiil and east of the Abecean Sea.
Home to the Wood Elves or Bosmer, this is a largely uninhabited forest wilderness. The coastlines are dominated by mangrove swamps and rain forests.
Likelihood: Strong.
Valenwood is one of the spots in Tamriel that Bethesda hasn't yet explored in the Elder Scrolls series beyond Arena.
However, there's also a purportedly leaked memo from within Bethesda back in 2014 that supports a Valenwood location.
The memo allegedly prohibited Bethesda employees from 'using or referencing' a number of terms. These included Fallout: Nuka World, which ended up being part of a Fallout 4 DLC release, Elder Scrolls 6 or something known as Project Greenheart.
Many believe that Project Greenheart is the codename for Elder Scrolls 6 because Greenheart is a city found in the Valenwood region.
Coincidence? Probably not.
Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr
Location: Elsweyr is a region of Tamriel bordered by Valenwood on the west, Cyrodiil to the north and east and Argonia to the east.
Elder Scrolls 6 Video Game
The province is separated into two nations: Anequina to the north and Pelletine to the South. Anequina is a desert-like badlands similar to Hammerfell. Pelletine, on the other hand, is a mixture of dense jungles and woodlands like Valenwood.
It's the home of the feline race of Elder Scrolls, the Khajiit.
Likelihood: Possible.
Bethesda has regularly said that the setting of Elder Scrolls games tends to be based on which province has the most lore.
There's plenty of information about Elsweyr in the previous games, so could be a great base to build Elder Scrolls 6.
Elder Scrolls VI: Hammerfell
Location: Hammerfell is a vast province to the west of Tamriel. The region is bordered by High Rock to the north, Skyrim to the north-east and Cyrodiil to the east and south-east.
It's a massive region that's covered by mountain ranges, grasslands and even deserts – just for that real mix of terrains.
The Redguards call Hammerfell their home, who are a race of men known for their cunning and skilled swordsmanship.
Likelihood: Strong.
The only issue with Hammerfell being a potential location for Elder Scrolls 6 is that it was partially featured in Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall.
However, at E3 2018, Bethesda released the first teaser trailer for the game, revealing few details beyond a sweeping view of a mountainous region. This could indicate that Hammerfell will be the location for the upcoming sequel.
Hammerfell is an absolutely massive region so there's plenty more that Elder Scrolls 6 could explore.
Elder Scrolls VI: Argonia
Location: The Black Marsh, known also as Argonia, is a region in the south-east of Tamriel. It's bordered by Morrowind to the north, Cyrodiil to the west and protected by both the Topal Sea and the Padomaic Ocean.
It's here that the reptilian Argonians call home, some of which you will encounter in other Elder Scrolls games.
The province is filled with great rivers and impenetrable swamps. It seems to be ruled by the King of Argonia and an Argonian Royal court.
Likelihood: Strong.
Online rumours have speculated that Argonia or the Black Marsh will be the setting for Elder Scrolls 6 for years.
Although there don't seem to be any verified leaks as yet, it is one location that the Elder Scrolls series hasn't yet explored.
Plus, there's plenty of knowledge of the Argonian race in previous games to support the next game exploring their homeland region.
Elder Scrolls VI: Akavir
Location: Akavir or the 'Dragon Land' is one of the only areas in this list that's outside of Tamriel.
It's actually a totally different continent that lies to the east of Tamriel and is the homeland of the Akaviri.
These people are made up of unrelated races, the Snow Demons of Jamal, the serpent men of Tsaesci, the Monkey People of Tang Mo and the Tiger Dragons of Ka'Po'Tun.
Little is known about the continent but it is referenced multiple times throughout the series.
Likelihood: Possible.
If Bethesda thinks the Elder Scrolls series is just retreading old ground in Tamriel, moving to the nearby yet historically connected continent of Akavir definitely has potential.
Elder Scrolls VI: Atmora
Location: Atmora, also known as Elder Wood, is a frozen continent way to the north of Tamriel, across the Sea of Ghosts.
It's described in the Elder Scrolls series as a place of permanent winter, with little life and no sign of habitation.
Likelihood: Very unlikely.
Nothing lives in this land of ice, so what reason would Bethesda have to set Elder Scrolls 6 there?
Elder Scrolls VI: Alinor
Location: The Summerset Isles, also known as Alinor, is an archipelago consisting of three major islands: Summerset, Auridon and Artaeum.
The archipelago is located to the south-west of Tamriel and west of Valenwood in the Abecean Sea.
It's home to the Altmer or High Elves/Western Elves. They're one of the ten default playable races in Elder Scrolls games and are primarily known for their enhanced magic abilities.
Likelihood: Possible.
Elder Scrolls 6 Video Game Release Date
The High Elves are one of the most popular races in Elder Scrolls, and any player would love to see a game set in their homeland. Bu to be fair, there's already Summerset content in existence.
There's plenty of history when it comes to the Summerset Isles too, which could give a major AAA release plenty of source material.
Plus, there's a couple in Fallout 4 called the Summersets. Is that a little hint from Bethesda?
The Elder Scrolls 6 may be years away at this point, but it sounds like when it does release -- presumably via the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X -- it will boast an impressive, immersive, and reactive open-world. Speaking in a new interview, series director Todd Howard revealed that he wants to see less scale for scale's sake from open-world games and more reactivity. Of course, the former isn't very hard to achieve, but the latter is quite challenging to pull off. In 2015, The Witcher 3 took a great stab at it, and in 2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 set a bar for open-world systems and reactivity. And it sounds like The Elder Scrolls VI wants to be the next open-world game to push the genre forward in this regard.
Elder Scrolls 6 Info
In addition to this, Howard reveals he wants gaming to continue to tear down barriers and make the medium even more accessible than it already is. That said, it's unclear how The Elder Scrolls VI specifically will facilitate this.
Elder Scrolls 6 Trailer
'Let's just cast forward to the next five to 10 years of gaming - for me, it's more about access than clock cycles,' said Howard. 'Just the time it takes to even turn a console on and load up some of these games is a barrier – it's time that you're not enjoying being in that world … The kind of games we make are ones that people are going to sit down and play for hours at a time. If you can access a game more easily, and no matter what device you're on or where you are, that's what I think the next five to 10 years in gaming is about. I'd like to see more reactivity in-game worlds, more systems clashing together that players can express themselves with. I think chasing scale for scale's sake is not always the best goal.'
Elder Scrolls 6 Video Games
As you can see, Howard doesn't directly mention The Elder Scrolls 6 here, but if he, the director of the game, wants to see 'more systems clashing together' and 'more reactivity,' it's safe to assume The Elder Scrolls 6 will be chasing these goals. Will the game still have a massive open world? Of course, but it sounds like the team wants to take a page out of the RDR2 notebook and make this open-world meaningful and allow players to express themselves within it.
3commentsThe last time out for The Elder Scrolls series was 2011's Skyrim. In 2011, it set a bar for open-world games, but since then the same team also released Fallout 4 in 2015, which mimicked Skyrim's open-world in just about every way. Despite this, it felt severely dated and stilted. The industry has moved beyond Bethesda Game Studios, and now the team needs to play catch up. Thankfully, it sounds like Howard and co. aren't resting on their laurels as they did with Fallout 4, evident not only by these ambitions, but by the new engine being built for the game.
H/T, The Guardian.
