At this point it shouldn’t be particularly shocking, but sometimes it takes a confirmation to really hit home: The Elder Scrolls VI appears to be careening toward Xbox exclusivity.
The news comes from an interview with Microsoft Executive VP of Gaming Phil Spencer in British GQ, which tapped Spencer on the question of exclusivity. After explaining that there was a time where Xbox had very few first-party marquee titles, Spencer went on to say that games like The Elder Scrolls VI will take advantage of the Xbox’s suite of features primarily.
“It’s not about punishing any other platform, like I fundamentally believe all of the platforms can continue to grow,” Spencer told the magazine. “But in order to be on Xbox, I want us to be able to bring the full complete package of what we have. And that would be true when I think about Elder Scrolls VI. That would be true when I think about any of our franchises.”
According to GQ, Spencer likened the situation to Starfield, which is confirmed to be exclusive for Xbox consoles and PC. Essentially, this leaves only the PlayStation out of the viable consoles for the game, which is seemingly true for Elder Scrolls VI as well.
Microsoft acquired Bethesda for $7.5 million dollars earlier this year and made attempts to clarify that all future Bethesda titles would be Xbox-exclusive. The situation was muddy, however, with games like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo having been established as temporary PlayStation exclusives. It was not until Starfield was announced as an exclusive at E3 2021 that the new heading was truly cemented for many.
Todd Howard, who was also present for the interview, simply updates Elder Scrolls VI details by saying they’re still designing the game. The tall shadow of Skyrim is hard to escape, but Howard wants to match the awe people get from first stepping outside in previous games with the new one.
[Source: GQ UK]
