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[IbizaPocholo]

Todd Howard Talks Elder Scrolls 6 Progress, Starfield's PS5 Port, and Bethesda's Future – IGN Interview - IGN

If you're looking for any meaty Elder Scrolls 6 updates from Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard, listen for the Creation Engine 3 stuff.

www.ign.com

Todd Howard discusses Starfield's major updates including the Free Lanes spaceflight system and PS5 port, while highlighting Creation Engine 3's foundational improvements for The Elder Scrolls 6, emphasizing scalable tech, careful announcement timing, and balancing community feedback with creative vision.

Summary

• Howard explains Starfield's update strategy: transitioning from expansion packs to intermittent updates with quality-of-life changes, extra quests, and bundling features like Creations mod system, faction quests (e.g., Tracker's Alliance), ship modules, and the new Terran Armada DLC story, focusing on long-term "meta" gameplay over 10-100 hours.
• On community communication, Howard notes a quieter period after launch to prepare big reveals, preferring to announce when ready for maximum excitement; they breadcrumb progress but seek community input on preferred update cadences.
• Starfield's PS5 port: Delayed due to timing but always planned; Bethesda maintains strong PlayStation relationships via ongoing support for Fallout 76 and Skyrim; port has been in development for a while, with excitement to reach new audiences.
• Xbox leadership shift: Howard expresses sadness over Phil Spencer's retirement (a key supporter of Bethesda's creative vision pre- and post-acquisition), praise for Matt Booty, and optimism about new leader Asha Sharma and future hardware plans known early.
• Next-gen hardware needs: Bethesda favors wide technical scalability for high-end PCs, handhelds, and low-spec devices rather than tying games to specific console specs; contrasts with past constraints like Xbox 360 era.
• Creation Engine 3 for The Elder Scrolls 6: Major iteration beyond Starfield's Creation Engine 2; includes advanced rendering, data systems, world loading, high-detail content presentation, AI, save states, and platform support; tech team managed transition smoothly to avoid disrupting content creation; broader than just visuals, focusing on scalability up and down.
• Starfield's Free Lanes update: Addresses original launch criticism of limited space exploration; enables seamless flying between planets/moons at high speeds with radar alerts for points of interest, balancing empty space feel with gameplay; allows walking around ship on autopilot for immersion.
• RPG philosophy (Todd Howard vs. interviewer Michael Higham referencing Morrowind/Outer Worlds): Rejects early "friction" from irreversible choices (e.g., Oblivion's class system); favors flexible character progression (Skyrim no-class, Starfield backgrounds as starting points) allowing course-correction; debates scarcity in builds (e.g., Fallout 76 cards) vs. eventual mastery; aims for meaningful choices without punishing restarts.
• Announcement timing: Howard regrets long gaps (e.g., 2018 E3 reveals of Fallout 76/Starfield/ES6); prefers compressing hype-to-release window; 2018 announcements informed fans of shift to new projects, but future reveals will be more restrained despite fan demand.
• Bethesda's development scaling: Starts small in 2-3 year pre-production to validate ideas (some rework inevitable for new IPs); ramps up with full studio/partners once direction is set; ES6 now at that mature stage with consistent playable builds; balances live service (e.g., Fallout 76's 67th update) with new projects.
• Elder Scrolls 6 status: Howard jokingly dodges specifics ("Pretend we didn't announce it"); notes lessons from Starfield's engine transition applied successfully—more stable daily builds with new content; bulk of studio focused on it.

 

[Gonzito]

Nothingburguer

 

[dorkimoe]

I cannot believe they are still sticking with that same loading simulator engine

 

[DeepEnigma]

Starfield's PS5 port: Delayed due to timing but always planned; Bethesda maintains strong PlayStation relationships via ongoing support for Fallout 76 and Skyrim; port has been in development for a while, with excitement to reach new audiences.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

Todd the Master Howard can take as long as he needs to pump out Elder Scrolls VI which is my most hyped game even beyond GTA VI and would be the best game of all times and realities once the modding gets going. Hopefully releasing on PC and next gen console by the end of 2027 or early 2028 at the latest.

 

[Matt_Fox]

Cue all the haters, mockers and scoffers...

I shall not be swayed. I believe that the next generation of Elder Scrolls is going to be I N C R E D I B L E !

 

[roosnam1980]

"Creation Engine 3 for The Elder Scrolls 6"

well they are consistent with the engine they use

 

[Lagspike_exe]

Continuing with CE for TES6 is insane. The engine is so dated that enhancing visuals themselves won't fix the fundamentals.

 

[Stafford]

I like him. He seems cool but I don't trust much of what he's saying anymore. Creation Engine 2 got a lot of hype words too and well...I don't think it's all that.

Huge BGS fan but I can't say I am super excited for TES VI, for several reasons but especially because it's taking a fucking lifetime for that to arrive.

 

[LordCBH]

Remember when Bethesda put out peak expansions like Shivering Isles, Far Harbor, Dragonborn, and more?

 

[Pagusas]

Nothingburguer

The hell? Starfield's Free Lanes update is a pretty massive thing. Hearing ES6 is well along is big, the whole interview is actually great and a good amount of information and transparency.

 

[Stafford]

The hell? Starfield's Free Lanes update is a pretty massive thing. Hearing ES6 is well along is big, the whole interview is actually great and a good amount of information and transparency.

It's nice to hear that TES VI is well along, but there's not much to work with here. Only recently he made it clear it was still very far away.

 

[squallbr]

MS burns 8Bi for this

 

[EDMIX]

"Starfield's Free Lanes update: Addresses original launch criticism of limited space exploration; enables seamless flying between planets/moons at high speeds with radar alerts for points of interest, balancing empty space feel with gameplay; allows walking around ship on autopilot for immersion."


Well thats nice to know, I do wonder how this will all work and trust me when I'm saying it haters, your issues you have with this, will not magically make you love the game. This whole planet in real time thing is not that deep and you'll see when you actually play the CONTENT of the game.

I'm ok with a cut scene, I'm fine with it in real time (but in real time was not some deal breaker, flying into the planet is not as revolutionary as some of you might think and that isn't really the worst part about Starfield, some of you just "think" it is...


"Starfield's PS5 port: Delayed due to timing but always planned"

Oh....we know. = )

"Next-gen hardware needs: Bethesda favors wide technical scalability for high-end PCs, handhelds, and low-spec devices"

^ i wonder what this means for Switch 2 support?


"aims for meaningful choices without punishing restarts"

I agree with this for some RPGs, let the player progress and make different choices that alter the game, build etc vs a hard class type thing. I'm fine with both.


"Announcement timing: Howard regrets long gaps"


^ I thought they would have more closer releases after reveals like Fallout 4, but I get they can't always control that as they still needed funding, investors etc

 

[roosnam1980]

 

[Lokaum D+]

Obligatory



this need to be updated.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I cannot believe they are still sticking with that same loading simulator engine

GoAT engine

 

[Alebrije]

It seems we will get news for new Fallout game long after PS6 releases, between 2029-3030

Fallout 76 feels old no matter how many updates it has.

I Will be a long wait.

 

[Sanepar]

Where is Starfield 2.0? no date, no info.

 

[yurinka]

Starfield's PS5 port: Delayed due to timing but always planned; Bethesda maintains strong PlayStation relationships via ongoing support for Fallout 76 and Skyrim; port has been in development for a while, with excitement to reach new audiences.

Yes, this is what the Xbox CFO said when they were going to acquire Bethesda. He said that their plan was "first, better or best" on MS platforms instead of full exclusives:

"What we'll do in the long run is we don't have intentions of just pulling all of Bethesda content out of Sony or Nintendo or otherwise," Stuart says. "But what we want is we want that content, in the long run, to be either first or better or best or pick your differentiated experience, on our platforms. We will want Bethesda content to show up the best as — on our platforms.""

https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-bethesda-first-better-best

 

[PeteBull]

Im being real here, todd, show us actual ES6 gameplay trailer, we need update on when game is gonna launch, no more empty interviews, we want actual results.

 

[f~N_CH_1:3:3:3_SushiBoat]

Free Lanes sounds legit, actually. Haven't touched SF since day one and was bored out of my mind. Maybe ill give it another honest attempt.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Yes, this is what the Xbox CFO said when they were going to acquire Bethesda. He said that their plan was "first, better or best" on MS platforms instead of full exclusives:



https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-bethesda-first-better-best

Yes, slimy things. The purpose of my post was a chuckle towards the Xbox brand shills that are no longer post here, but still like to drop emotes from time to time, tried claiming "there never was a PS5 version planned" back when the "exclusivity" was going down.

 

[March Climber]

• Elder Scrolls 6 status: Howard jokingly dodges specifics ("Pretend we didn't announce it"); notes lessons from Starfield's engine transition applied successfully—more stable daily builds with new content; bulk of studio focused on it.

I'm calling it, this will be a longer gap between Starfield and ES6 than it is between Red Dead 2 and GTA 6.

Continuing with CE for TES6 is insane. The engine is so dated that enhancing visuals themselves won't fix the fundamentals.

They are never going to let that engine go. It's why a game like Fallout 76 existing was a necessary evil to improve it. Starfield existing hopefully taught them even more harsh lessons about it's limitations.

 

[Emedan]

"Announcement timing: Howard regrets long gaps"


^ I thought they would have more closer releases after reveals like Fallout 4, but I get they can't always control that as they still needed funding, investors etc

You pitch to investors privately, don't need to announce it publicly. With series like fallout and the elder scrolls a name drop would be enough probably.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

We sit down with Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard to discuss progress on The Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield PS5 and the new gameplay updates, how the Creation Engine is evolving, and more.

 

[EDMIX]

You pitch to investors privately, don't need to announce it publicly. With series like fallout and the elder scrolls a name drop would be enough probably.

True, but some times they still do that to generate hype to show investors that gamers want it or are interested etc.

 

[Nydius]

I can't help but wonder how much cachet "The Elder Scrolls" has anymore. Yeah, Oblivion Remastered did well partially because it was practically shadowdropped and it played to people's nostalgia. But the last TES game was Skyrim and that game has practically become a running joke at this point because it's been continually ported to so many different platforms. I don't know many in my son's (mid-20's) age range who cares about The Elder Scrolls as a franchise at this point. Fallout, sure, but mainly because the TV show revitalized interest.

Meanwhile, Starfield showed the extreme limitations of Bethesda's engine (and development talents - still using 20+ year old quest design), and we have sprawling open world games like Crimson Desert filling the void left behind by TES's insane development cycle. I don't know, I'm bored and just rambling.

 

[ZehDon]

I can't help but wonder how much cachet "The Elder Scrolls" has anymore... But the last TES game was Skyrim and that game has practically become a running joke at this point...

I think the sequel to Skyrim - one of the best selling and most beloved video games of all time - will do just fine. "The Elder Scrolls" as a brand is fine, but all they have to do is announce "The Sequel to Skyrim" and they can probably assume 8 million day one sales without breaking a sweat.

 

[Nydius]

I think the sequel to Skyrim - one of the best selling and most beloved video games of all time - will do just fine. "The Elder Scrolls" as a brand is fine, but all they have to do is announce "The Sequel to Skyrim" and they can probably assume 8 million day one sales without breaking a sweat.

I respectfully disagree that The Elder Scrolls as a brand is "fine". It appears fine here because we all skew older and grew up with the franchise. Outside of GAF, how much do you hear people talk about TES? Very little, if at all. It doesn't have the clout or hype of a GTA. Or even a Crimson Desert. It also doesn't help that Starfield exposed Bethesda as being outdated and out of touch.

Marketing it as "The Sequel to Skyrim" would be fine if Skyrim hadn't come out in 2011 and then became an internet meme about how lazy Bethesda had become by constantly porting it and re-releasing it at full price for damn near every new system that's come out since.

 

[Stafford]

I'm calling it, this will be a longer gap between Starfield and ES6 than it is between Red Dead 2 and GTA 6.


They are never going to let that engine go. It's why a game like Fallout 76 existing was a necessary evil to improve it. Starfield existing hopefully taught them even more harsh lessons about it's limitations.

That would be insanity. Let's hope not.

 

[Nocty]

Fuckin Todd, man. that fuckin guy

 

[Ashamam]

I cannot believe they are still sticking with that same loading simulator engine

I'm as critical as the next guy re CE2 and Starfield, also skeptical about comments from Tod until proven....but..... they literally call out world loading in CE3

I think there are things outside of the rendering that you would expect as it comes to data systems, how our worlds load, how they load content and present things of high detail close to the camera. There's a lot of work being done there for how we load our worlds and present them sort of immediately on the screen, how we deal with the scale that we usually work with, how data's coming in and out.

Clearly something is changing in that regard.

In this day an age everything is just simplified. If the opinion doesn't fit a 5s tictok window its too much effort.

My opinion on CE3 has changed over time, clearly they know they got it wrong and are looking at major improvements. So its no longer, 'its CE, it will be shit'. Now its, 'will CE3 deliver the goods?'. In the spirit of complexity the end result will not be a yes or a no, it will be a 'mostly' or 'in this respect yes, but..'.

Thats the engine, the RPG design is a whole other story. Because if they sand off the edges like they did in Starfield then ESVI is going to fall just as flat, even without the technical deficiences.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/the-majority-of-this-building-is-working-on-the-elder-scrolls-6-todd-howard-says-bethesdas-full-focus-is-on-the-rpg-it-announced-in-2018-and-its-so-different-than-starfield-so-different-than-fallout/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

"The majority of this building is working on The Elder Scrolls 6," he admits. "It's amazing for us to come back to it. I gotta be honest, right? Being in that world after not developing in Elder Scrolls – it's so different than Starfield, so different than Fallout – it feels great for us."

Howard continues, admitting, "We feel we're in a really good place with these franchises. Obviously, we're around Fallout stuff as well, and we feel good about that. The trick is still we have three big audiences, and in some ways, three big franchises – and in a lot of ways, the franchise is the studio. Skyrim is somewhat the sequel to Fallout 3. Fallout 4 is somewhat our follow-up to Skyrim."

There is, after all, "a lot of crossover" among fans. "There's definitely people who strongly, strongly prefer one over the other, which is totally understandable," though – and I'd certainly agree, as an Elder Scrolls truther myself.

"They're very different vibes, and they're different vibes to develop," as Howard puts it. When it comes to The Elder Scrolls, for instance, "there's something very romantic" about the fantasy setting and the feeling it gives of "a world that you feel you can almost step out into."

 

[Stafford]

It's cool and all. But at the same time I am done with hearing that things are going well and him admitting it was announced way too early. When it all comes down to it we have no idea. No indication whatsoever of a possible release year.

 

[Ellis]

Many games today still use twenty plus year old engines at their core. UE5 games, CoD, Elden Ring/DS etc.

Bethesda's however has pretty muched reached its limit with the games they're trying to create. It was build around Morrowind.

 

[L*][*N*K]

Im being real here, todd, show us actual ES6 gameplay trailer, we need update on when game is gonna launch, no more empty interviews, we want actual results.

no Todd don't listen to this dude, show it to us when it is ready!

 

[cash_longfellow]

It seems we will get news for new Fallout game long after PS6 releases, between 2029-3030

Fallout 76 feels old no matter how many updates it has.

I Will be a long wait.

Felt old when it was brand new too.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Many games today still use twenty plus year old engines at their core. UE5 games, CoD, Elden Ring/DS etc.

Bethesda's however has pretty muched reached its limit with the games they're trying to create. It was build around Morrowind.

Did you just say UE5 is 20 years old?

Edit for clarity, I was just kidding. I know you meant the OG UE. Crazy to think it's almost 30 years old now.

 

[Loomy]

• Bethesda's development scaling: Starts small in 2-3 year pre-production to validate ideas (some rework inevitable for new IPs); ramps up with full studio/partners once direction is set; ES6 now at that mature stage with consistent playable builds; balances live service (e.g., Fallout 76's 67th update) with new projects.

Some people who insist all AAA games should take 4 years to make or be cancelled outright aren't going to enjoy this little dose of reality.

 

[Ellis]

Did you just say UE5 is 20 years old?

Older. It's a heavily modified version of the previous.

Look at COD. That runs on IW Engine. Essentially a heavily modified ID Tech 2 which was built for Quake 2.

 

[Stafford]

Do we know for how long TES VI has been in full development? Was it directly after Starfield?

 

[cash_longfellow]

Older. It's a heavily modified version of the previous.

Look at COD. That runs on IW Engine. Essentially a heavily modified ID Tech 2 which was built for Quake 2.

I know, I was playing. I edited my initial comment. Almost 30 years old now, that's wild. I remember when it first came out back in the late 90s.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

They can call it the creation engine turbo duper edition Z if they want but I guarantee come tes6 that thing will have the same cell loading that previous entires and that bugs we've seen before due to this will resurface again.

 

[Mengy]

Continuing with CE for TES6 is insane. The engine is so dated that enhancing visuals themselves won't fix the fundamentals.

Yeah, I have to agree its very worrisome with regards to ES6.

 

[Ellis]

I know, I was playing. I edited my initial comment. Almost 30 years old now, that's wild. I remember when it first came out back in the late 90s.

Good times. As much as I prefer Build Engine games, UE and id Tech 2 felt sublime, and a big step up.

 

[Fake]

Dumbass.

 

[Danjin44]

• Elder Scrolls 6 status: Howard jokingly dodges specifics ("Pretend we didn't announce it"); notes lessons from Starfield's engine transition applied successfully—more stable daily builds with new content; bulk of studio focused on it.

It's so stupid to announce your game when the development hasn't started yet.

This was 7 years a go.


Why devs or publisher do this?

 

[Stafford]

It's so stupid to announce your game when the development hasn't started yet.

This was 7 years a go.


Why devs or publisher do this?

It was during a time where Zenimax was leaning towards online shit such as 76 and TESO and they were clearly afraid that fans were starting to believe Zenimax/Bethesda was going full focus with online games and not much SP stuff anymore.

So they decided to announce not only Starfield but also TES VI.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Good times. As much as I prefer Build Engine games, UE and id Tech 2 felt sublime, and a big step up.

100%.