Todd Howard, director of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, revealed that Bethesda plans to support both RPGs for an extended period, a strategy he regrets not applying to Skyrim and Fallout 4.
In an interview with MrMattyPlays on YouTube, Howard discussed Bethesda’s approach to post-launch game support. He acknowledged that while Skyrim and Fallout 4 are still widely played, the studio wished they had provided longer support. “We would look back at Skyrim, which we’re still updating to a small extent, and there’s all of the creations and mods there, still a hugely played game, same with Fallout 4, that we wish we had supported them longer,” Howard said.
Howard explained that Bethesda’s development philosophy for Fallout 76, aiming for long-term support, is being applied to Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6. “With all these games, you gotta start now by thinking about a 10-year horizon. How do we support a game for that long?” he stated.
Specifically for Starfield, Bethesda aims to release annual story expansions, with the first, Shattered Space, set for release this Fall. The plan is to support Starfield “as long as we can,” indicating a commitment to sustained updates and new content.
For The Elder Scrolls 6, Howard hinted at long-term support extending beyond content updates, emphasizing the importance of creating a game that players will return to over many years.
Before any long-term plans can be fully realized, fans are still waiting for the actual launch of The Elder Scrolls 6, which remains without a release date since its 2018 announcement. Meanwhile, Starfield’s future content roadmap is becoming clearer with the promise of regular expansions.