Following today’s announcement that Microsoft has acquired Bethesda parent company Zenimax Media for $7.5 billion, there’s a question on everyone’s lips: Is Elder Scrolls 6 coming to PS5? Let alone the Fallout, Doom, and Prey series! In this guide, we’ll run through the various possibilities regarding possible platform exclusivity and give you our best guess of what’s going to happen.
Elder Scrolls 6 PS5 – Everything You Need to Know
First, let’s get this out of the way for those looking for a quick answer.
Is Elder Scrolls 6 coming to PlayStation 5? Answer: Nobody knows for certain yet, but the most likely answer is yes given recent examples and events.
Read on for a thorough explanation.
Now, where were we?
As Zenimax Media is the parent company to the Bethesda Studios such as Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arcane Studios, Roundhouse Studios and Tango Gameworks among others, the decision on which platforms their games get released on is largely in the hands of Microsoft.
Given Microsoft owns Xbox, the immediate assumption would be that Phil Spencer will rub his hands and laugh maniacally as he presses the big, red ‘exclusive’ button on a panel in front of him, as Elder Scrolls VI, Starfield and Fallout 5 flash up on an enormous wall-consuming screen in a room with Xbox green lighting. But, yeah, that’s not what’s happening.
When talking about whether or not Elder Scrolls 6 will come to PS5, there are a few different possible ways it could pan out. These are:
- Timed Exclusivity
- Outright Exclusivity
- Available on All Consoles on Initial Release Date
Timed exclusivity would see Elder Scrolls 6 exclusive to the Xbox Series S and Series X in terms of consoles, with the game likely to release on PC at the same time.
Outright exclusivity would see the game only ever release on the Xbox consoles (and probably PC, too).
The final route speaks for itself. If you were planning on getting a PS5 and were looking to Elder Scrolls 6, this would be your paradise.
Out of these three options, outright exclusivity seems the least likely. Let’s remember that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim sold 30 million copies across all the many, many platforms it released across. While Elder Scrolls 6 being exclusive to the Xbox Series X would certainly entice PS5 owners into picking up an Xbox Series S or X, they’d be missing out on a huge percentage of fans who may never be able to buy an Xbox for whatever reason.
What’s more likely is that we may see some games get timed exclusivity, encouraging players to pick up an Xbox Series S as a ‘Game Pass machine’ of sorts. Perhaps Prey 2 releases exclusively on Xbox before the PS5 release six months later.
But for the biggest series in the Bethesda lineup such as Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom and Starfield, it’s much more likely that Microsoft will release the titles on other third-party platforms, just as it did with Minecraft Dungeons. Another game from a juggernaut series with fans across all platforms. It’s for this reason, we feel that the Elder Scrolls 6 will come to PS5.
Given Phil Spencer has also said that games will come to “other consoles on a case-by-case basis,” it very much sounds like it’ll be a mix of all three for upcoming Bethesda games.
As soon as there’s any concrete information regarding Elder Scrolls 6 Xbox exclusivity, we’ll update this post and let you know.
That’s our take on whether or not The Elder Scrolls 6 is coming to PS5. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.