New Elder Scrolls?

[Saetha]

We will see if it turns out to be true. And they still have to develop Fallout 4 first.

Personely I am hoping for Elsweyr or Hammerfell since those regions sound more interesting to me. I think the next Elder Scrolls will use Hammerfell as a setting since Blackmarsh and Elsweyr are probably a bit to weird to sell to a large audiance.

Hey, Morrowind probably sounds pretty weird on paper, but it was pretty great game. The unique setting is something I like the most about it.

...On the other hand, Cyrodiil was supposed to be a pretty weird place, too, and look how that turned out. I really hope they don't set it in Blackmarsh if they're just going to retcon it into some standard fantasy setting.

I'd personally prefer to visit an Elven region next; either Valenwood or Alinor would be nice. Maybe even Pyondanea, although there are lore regions why that would be unlikely.

My lore's a bit rusty. What's Pyondanea again?

 

[Steve Waltz]

I always wonder when some site I?ve never heard of gets the news before any reputable site. Either way, to heck with The Elder Scrolls and let?s have a new Fallout instead.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

The article gives absolutely no quotes or official references, and tells us that "Argonia was announced back in September this year at EGX 2014." Which, while the Elder Scrolls 6 definitely seems to have been announced, I am really struggling to find any direct quotes from Bethesda themselves to confirm it would actually be named "Argonia" Specifically.
I can find a torrent of sites from before the date predicting that it would be an announcement of Argonia, but remember when all the news sites were certain Bethesda's 'Dishonoured' teaser was going to be Skyrim DLC?
The videogame press are like reverse Cassandras [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra] (cursed to be always wrong but everyone listens to them anyway)

Combine that with this hilariously dumb error from the article:

"It's been ten years since the first Elder Scrolls title released"

No, it's been 20 years from the first Elder scrolls game. Jeez, it's a simple Google away, but who cares about fact checking nowadays? Certainly not masterherald.com's editor.

Bethesda Softworks is responsible for creating half the fantasy RPG that we currently have, from Skyrim to Doom and Wolfenstein, etc.

All I have to say is

Spoiler

And then there's this:

"A report published on the Tehran Chronicle said that Bethesda has not just confirmed the release date of the game, but has also started working towards the development."

- the article itself quotes the "Tehran Chronicle" for it's information. After searching for the Tehran Chronicle's Pulitzer prize winning article on the subject I discovered it is titled thusly - "Elder Scrolls 6 is under heavy development with release date 4-5 years after Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - News and Rumors"
And that 'news and rumours' subheading is somewhat an important caveat as it included a whole lot of rumours and nothing I'd call "news":

The last Elder Scroll game was launched three years ago and it was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Observing the previous release patterns, we can say that developer Bethesda has an average development time of 4 to 5 years and with that said, we can expect a new game somewhere roughly between 2015 and 2016.

That is the brunt of the justification for the release date. That is literally the only rationale for the release date that they state: They've just said 'Oblivion took 4 years and Skyrim took 5 years, and averages based on 2 figures are always perfectly accurate, so let's publish it as 'roughly' and call it news and rumours'

And this is the justification for the Argonia reveal:

Every game of the series has focused on one of the province of the games world Cyrodil and only three provinces are left to be the center focus. Argonia is the province out of the 3 which was referenced the most in Skyrim. It is also known as the black marsh.

So we can expect Elder Scrolls 6 to be set up in Argonia,

Things wrong with this statement:
1. The game world is Tamriel, not "Cyrodil"
2. Cyrodiil has two i's.
3. There are not just 3 provinces left to be a 'center focus', there is 4 if you don't include returning to previous provinces (Summerset isles, Elsewyr, Valenwood and Blackmarsh)
4. Argonia was not "referenced most" in Skyrim, that would probably be Summerset Isles where the imminent invasion of the Thalmor was going to come from.
5. Even if it was mentioned most that wouldn't prove anything about where the next Elder Scrolls game was going to be.

So that means that all the information is in fact based on the clickbait ramblings of madmen. And it just flourishes on the internet due to all these gaming sites that never bother to do the most basic of fact checking or anything.

Here's the best worst article I could find: hallels.com includes this wonderful gem of journalistic research:

According to Franchise Herald, The Elder Scrolls is the series of open world fantasy game, which has sold more than thirty million copies around the world after it had made its name as the provider of free form gameplay.

Read more: http://www.hallels.com/articles/11480/20141028/elder-scrolls-6-argonia-release-date-set-march-2016.htm#ixzz3Hxg8A5DL

They literally quote another article in order to define what the Elder Scrolls actually is. Amazingly they manage to top that laziness with this downright bizarre stupidity:

Aside from the series of The Elder Scrolls, Bethesda is also the creator of Fallout franchise, which is among the different pioneers of games.

Ignoring the incomprehensible ending of that sentence which makes no sense whatsoever, Bethesda did not create the Fallout franchise (as any longrunning Fallout fan could tell you - or a quick google search would reveal) Interplay created Fallout, and sold it to Bethesda after Fallout 2 (Which explains the series jump from isometric to FPS gameplay).

Frankly all the websites reporting on this seem to be part of the infinite monkeys experiment, and obviously they've a long way to go before they get anywhere near Shakespeare. I've seen better researched and written articles in School magazines. Whether it is true or not, I wouldn't take the word of these 'journalists' for it, they don't know their arse from their knee-arrow.

 

[Therumancer]

While World Of Warcraft killed the single player game series for all intents and purposes, Bethesda made a big deal about that not happening with "Elder Scrolls Online". I have every reason to believe there will be more Elder Scrolls and Fallout Games (single player) unless they stop selling. That said I'm guessing Bethesda might be erring on the side of caution and wants to lock in a lot more details before they start hyping the game. One thing that hurts a company more than anything nowadays is when they start making promises early on (directly or indirectly) and then fail to meet the obligations they set for themselves.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

But the last game was about Argonians...to me anyway. It just made a ton of sense to play as an Argonian if I was playing as the Dragonborn. Anyway I'd love to play a new Elder Scrolls, especially if it takes place in Blackmarsh! Argonians are my favorite race to play as so it's great to play in their homeland. I'm still expecting a 5th-year anniversary edition of Skyrim though...released on next-gen (well...current gen) consoles of course.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

A new Elder Scrolls game? This soon? Not bloody likely. We'll see the next Fallout from Bethesda (unfortunately)and then probably in 2020 we'll be well on our way for a new Elder Scrolls.

 

[Aesir23]

I'm very skeptical but I would definitely be happy if the next game were to take place in Black Marsh.

That said, if it is true then I hope Bethesda scraps that god-awful game engine they keep retooling or whatever was at fault for many of the bugs that should have been fixed before release. Skyrim is the only game where I've gotten a CTD on a console. Even on the PC it was pretty bad for a while. Thank God for the modding community and its unofficial patches.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I'm skeptical, I guess?

So, unlike EA and KotOR, Bethesda isn't going to let Elder Scrolls die with a disappointing MMO?

Color me skeptically optimistic.

Well considering Elder Scrolls is highly successful despite an MMO being mediocre at best (optimistic hyperbole), Skyrim selling upwards of 20 million vs. I can't even find decent sales figures for KOTOR 2 and I looked, I doubt Bethesda cares as a whole about the MMO's success when dealing with Single Player sequels.
On the flip side, with Star Wars being owned by Disney now and the whole EU changing because of that, KOTOR 3 wasn't even on the menu. Poor comparison choice even if we're talking one of the most celebrated Star Wars game series.
I've no clue how the decisions are made over at EA but I'd guess that anything to do with Star Wars still has to go through a sort of vetting process with the parent company before they go ahead and make a new game. I doubt Disney has given EA carte blanche when it comes to new or renewing IPs. That would be the smart move and Disney, for all its faults here and there, is smart when it comes to business deals. Why do you think they own Pixar and Lucasfilm? (although Pixar definitely got the better end of that deal)
*shrug* Anyway Bethesda isn't likely to take ESO into account when making a sequel to the original series because its predecessor did so damn well and is still among the top-played games on Steam. I still see friends playing Skyrim (just saw a popup about 5 minutes ago of a friend who has logged 700+ hours and he's still fucking playing the damn game).

 

[themyrmidon]

This better be a joke. Fallout 3 was too long ago, if we get 3 TES games before we finally get Fallout 4 I'll be mad as hell. For whatever faults FO3 had at least it wasn't bland like Skyrim or a shoehorned MMO likes Online.

I respect the opinions of everyone that would be excited if this is real, but I've played 2 TES games and 2 Fallout games, and I'd take Fallout every time. It would just be flat out disappointing.

 

[Saetha]

Snip

Snip

Yeeeaaaah... reading through the article does raise an awful lot of red flags. I admit I got through about the first two paragraphs before making this thread - the fact that this was coming from some random website (As well as the name - typically ES games are named after the common name of the province they're set in, and "Blackmarsh" sounds far more bad ass than "Argonia.") set off enough alarm bells to make me seek outside input.

Reading through to the end, though... uh. Well...

 

[Maxtro]

Just Google "Elder Scrolls 6"

This rumor has been around since September.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Most people have already copped to it, but I'll say it anyway... this article is dubious at best. It reads like someone who who is talking completely out of his ass.

People, this is how shitty rumors spread. Luckily the good folks here at the escapist are clever individuals. I'm sure this article has gotten shared a few times on social media meaning some less discerning folks will spread it a bit, but with little to substantiate it I doubt it will get much traction beyond those who take random facebook updates at face value.

That said, Blackmarsh would be a cool locale to visit in the next adventure. But, I can't help but feel that Summerset or Valenwood should be next. However they work it, I hope they don't sweep the Thalmor threat under the rug with a massive time lapse and lore books.

 

[Godhead]

It would be real neat if this is an actual thing that will happen in the next few years, but Morrowind and Oblivion will more than keep me occupied if this is just an unfounded rumor.

 

[infohippie]

The article sounds a bit dubious, but I am hopeful nonetheless. I couldn't care less about another Fallout but I am really looking forward to the next Elder Scrolls.

 

[LordFeast58]

A new Elder Scrolls game? This soon? Not bloody likely. We'll see the next Fallout from Bethesda (unfortunately)and then probably in 2020 we'll be well on our way for a new Elder Scrolls.

And the release of the game will 20.12.2020, if they are 'creative' enough like that. Seriously, if the Bethesda RP, Pete Hines doesn't want any kind of leak information whether it is the Fallout or The Elder Scrolls, why would he let it being leaked now? I understand if the game developers' sibling, cousin, grandpa or friends who is eavesdropping on Bethesda's work just to make sure some news will make the fans happy, but that is highly unlikely, well, most of the time. I don't even know what's real anymore anyway.

 

[Yuiiut]

As several people have said, this article is extremely poorly written (at one point, in an article literally titled 'Elder Scrolls 6: To Be Titled Argonia, Bethesda Working Towards a March 2016 Release Date!', they call the 'upcoming' game 'Elder Scrolls 3: Argonia',), with basic fact-checking absent ("It has been 10 years since the initial Elder Scrolls") and many other issues already discussed upthread.
As for what they claim, I would be extremely happy if it was set in Argonia. The biggest issue I can see with that is that the main plotlines of TES titles tend to focus on mysticism and prophecy (Dragonborn, Nevarine, The Septim's Bloodline etc.), and although fighting the Thalmor in Blackmarsh would be awesome (especially if the Hist gets involved somehow), it doesn't have the 'end-of-the-world' feeling about it. Randomly guessing here, but there's something in the lore about there being 5 towers which anchor reality that the Thalmor are seeking to destroy somehow? And there's not many of them left? If someone more lore-knowledgeable than me knows what I'm talking about about and if any of the towers are in provinces that haven't been visited in the series yet, then that's where I'd place my bets on the next location. Of course, I'm probably completely wrong-maybe it will be Blackmarsh and they'll play up the Hist. Provided we visit somewhere interesting (non-human dominated, preferably), then I'll be happy.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

-snip-
As for what they claim, I would be extremely happy if it was set in Argonia. The biggest issue I can see with that is that the main plotlines of TES titles tend to focus on mysticism and prophecy (Dragonborn, Nevarine, The Septim's Bloodline etc.), and although fighting the Thalmor in Blackmarsh would be awesome (especially if the Hist gets involved somehow), it doesn't have the 'end-of-the-world' feeling about it. Randomly guessing here, but there's something in the lore about there being 5 towers which anchor reality that the Thalmor are seeking to destroy somehow? And there's not many of them left? If someone more lore-knowledgeable than me knows what I'm talking about about and if any of the towers are in provinces that haven't been visited in the series yet, then that's where I'd place my bets on the next location. Of course, I'm probably completely wrong-maybe it will be Blackmarsh and they'll play up the Hist. Provided we visit somewhere interesting (non-human dominated, preferably), then I'll be happy.

I agree that Blackmarsh would be an awesome place for the next Elder Scrolls, and I think the Hist would probably be central to the plot (The Hist are threatened and choose you to save them from whatever is trying to destroy them or something) But these articles certainly bring no weight to the table in their blind guessing.

The towers are a very interesting concept. The idea is that there are eight towers (that we know of) and these towers all have activation stones that provide Tamriel with stability in the middle of the chaos of Oblivion. If either the stone or the tower itself is deactivated or destroyed then Tamriel loses that anchor of stability. Once all towers are deactivated the physical reality of Tamriel will dissappear, plunging everyone into a timeless soup of nothingness.
The Elves believe that they are directly descended from the gods who existed contentedly in this nothingness until the world was created, and see that state as their nirvana-heaven.

So far the towers that have been destroyed are:

The Brass tower, which is the Numidium (a giant Dwarven mech-walker weapon that warped time all around it - destroyed during Daggerfall)
The Red Mountain in Morrowind (destroyed during Morrowind),
The walking city in Valenwood (deactivated some time before Oblivion)
The Crystal tower in the Summerset Isles (destroyed during Oblivion)
The Orichalc Tower (located somewhere else and destroyed by someone - not a lot of details on it)

The White-Gold tower had it's stone deactivated for Oblivion to happen, but it may have been reactivated by Akatosh at the end of Oblivion.
The mountain the Throat of the World in Skyrim is a tower, and while the mountain is definitely still standing the stone is never fully explained, although it's stone is either something to do with Alduin's banishment and return or the fall of the rightful king (explaining the Dragonborn's presence as a requirement to Banish Alduin/reinstate a ruler to maintain the tower)

And finally the Adamantine Tower between Hammerfell and High Rock, which is still activated.

The poem in the Book of the Dragonborn at the beginning of Skyrim seems to support the towers idea.

Spoiler

When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world

When the Brass Tower walks and Time is Reshaped

When the Thrice-Blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles

When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls

When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding

The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn.

 

[Czann]

Unless they hate money they are already working on a new SP TES game. The MMO is from a subsidiary and it didn't exactly set the world on fire.

That said the rumor it will be set in Summerset Isles seems to be more credible because of the Thalmor storyline in Skyrim.

Would love to see one set in Black Marsh/Argonia though. It could have a 40's pulp feeling to it considering the setting of a barely known and very dangerous region to explore.

 

[Elfgore]

After the whole Fallout 4 fiasco, I refuse to allow myself to believe any Fallout/Elder Scrolls style news. Unless it comes from Todd Howard's mouth.

In the event this has any weight behind it, Black Marsh would not have been my first choice. I'd much rather have Valenwood or the Summerset Isles be the setting.