Bethesda Dev Accidentally Hints at The Elder Scrolls 6 Setting

A Bethesda developer has accidentally shared some hints suggesting that The Elder Scrolls 6 will take place in Hammerfell. This turn of events is bound to further strengthen the fandom’s long-held suspicions about the setting of The Elder Scrolls 6.

June 11 marked the sixth anniversary of Bethesda’s TES 6 teaser trailer, which was shared during the company’s E3 2018 showcase. Although rumors about Hammerfell being the setting of TES 6 had been circulating the industry long before that, the game’s official announcement was the first big indicator of them being correct, as the teaser offered a glimpse of a vast savanna, mountainous terrain, and a long coastline, all of which are canonically part of the Redguard homeland in the series’ lore.

Bethesda Dev Hints at TES 6 Setting via Pinterest Mood Board

Those suspicions have now been further strengthened by Ray Lederer, a senior concept illustrator at Bethesda Game Studios who’s been at the Maryland-based company since 2008. Namely, his Pinterest account, @raylgun, recently had an uptick in activity that saw Lederer add quite a bit of content to several of his public image boards, titled “Men,” “Costumes,” “Weapons,” and “Landscapes,” among others. One thing that they all have in common is that they feature people, art, architecture, and landscapes of North African, Moorish, and Middle Eastern cultures, all of which have long been established as the inspirations behind Hammerfell and the Redguards in The Elder Scrolls lore.

Some fans have consequently interpreted Lederer’s recent social media activity as the concept artist adding to his TES 6 mood boards, concluding that the much-anticipated RPG must be taking place in Hammerfell. Lederer took his Pinterest profile private after these images started making the rounds online in mid-July 2024, with that move serving as an indicator that his Pins might have indeed divulged information about the upcoming game.

Fishing Might Be Making a Return in TES 6

A cached version of the artist’s now-private Pinterest profile reviewed by Game Rant also includes a rather expansive image board dedicated to fish, largely of the saltwater variety. This could imply that Skyrim‘s fishing mechanics are set to make a return in its sequel, or that marine life will simply be included in the upcoming game in some other manner. Fish have been featured in the series since TES 2: Daggerfall, both as ambient creatures and hostile species, such as the aptly-named Slaughterfish.

It will likely be a while until Bethesda officially discloses the setting of the next entry in its iconic franchise, as the game itself is still nowhere close to going gold, having only entered active development after Starfield hit the market in September 2023. Shortly beforehand, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer suggested that TES 6 won’t be released for at least another half a decade, i.e., no sooner than late 2028.

The Elder Scrolls 6

The Elder Scrolls 6 is an open world RPG in development by Bethesda Game Studios.

Developer(s)

Bethesda Game Studios

Publisher(s)

Bethesda Softworks

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