If you ever feel like you've been waiting way too long for The Elder Scrolls 6, just know that your pain is probably nothing compared to that of ex-loremaster Kurt Kuhlmann.
Kuhlmann worked at developer Bethesda for over 20 years, being credited as co-lead designer on Skyrim and lead systems designer on Starfield. He was such a veteran that he ended up adopting the 'loremaster' title.
He left the company in 2023 — and he's only just now telling his story.
In a fascinating interview with PC Gamer, he reveals that he was once promised the role of lead designer on The Elder Scrolls 6 — and this was back when Fallout 4 released in 2015.
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube167k
Apparently, the studio's original plan was to get started on Skyrim's successor once Fallout 4 was out of the door — but that obviously didn't happen.
"Of course, after Fallout 4, we didn’t go to TES6, we made Fallout 76, and then even then, we didn’t make TES6, we made Starfield, which became this extremely long project compared to other ones," Kuhlmann remembers.
"So from my point of view, I [had] been waiting like 11 years to be the lead on TES6."
Again, it's been over seven years since The Elder Scrolls 6 was officially announced at E3 2018, but Kuhlmann was banking on the project for over a decade. Brutal.
He goes on to claim that at some point down the line, things changed, and the lead designer role that he was offered all those years ago was rescinded.
Kuhlmann had "tough" conversations with the likes of Bethesda boss Todd Howard, and while the bigwigs still wanted Kuhlmann to have "an important role in the project", it just didn't match up with his expectations, and so he eventually left the company.
Kuhlmann says that his vision for The Elder Scrolls 6's story was "like The Empire Strikes Back". It would supposedly feature the Thalmor — a key threat in Skyrim — as the primary antagonists, having emerged victorious in their previous campaigns of conquering.
No one really knows when we'll actually get to see The Elder Scrolls 6. The latest is that most of Bethesda's working on it, and development is supposedly progressing well.
How much longer are you prepared to wait? What are your hopes and dreams for the game? Consider cryosleep in the comments section below.