Bethesda Game Studios is currently working on The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5. But when are either of them coming out?

Bethesda recently gained back a lot of goodwill from gamers with the successful launch of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered. But where does that leave us in terms of the next big games? Is Fallout 5 in development? Will we get it before or after The Elder Scrolls 6? Many questions, but no answers, only rumors.

According to the latest report, the next Fallout game is even further off than you might expect. The studio is currently working on The Elder Scrolls 6, which itself may not release until 2028. So if we’re hoping for the next Fallout game, we’ll have to wait well into the next decade, if not later.

Fallout 5 is not coming anytime soon, and certainly not before The Elder Scrolls 6

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The most recent news we have about Fallout 5 comes from Xbox insider and YouTuber Colt Eastwood, who recently reported that the game is at least five to six years from release. If we should believe this timeline, it would place the game’s launch somewhere between 2030 and 2031, if everything proceeds smoothly. And we know with recent experience that that’s a big “if.”

The current priority at Bethesda is The Elder Scrolls 6, which is still in pre-production and not expected until 2028 at the earliest. Only after Elder Scrolls 6 is completed will Bethesda fully turn its attention to Fallout 5. We’ve already gotten confirmation from Todd Howard about this development order.

During a 2022 interview, he said that Fallout 5 would follow The Elder Scrolls 6. He has also previously noted that making one of these massive RPGs typically takes about five years. So, if you think about how long Starfield took and the post-launch support that it got, we can assume there’s a lot of time left till the next Fallout.

And since there are big gaps between these AAA projects, Eastwood also suggests that Obsidian Entertainment, creators of Fallout: New Vegas, may be working on a spinoff Fallout game. According to Eastwood, a LinkedIn profile hinted that Obsidian is working on an unannounced game that he speculates could be a spinoff.

Bethesda has already tested these waters recently

The Oblivion Remaster has been a hit. | Image Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

It wouldn’t be something entirely new to Bethesda. The studio recently released The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered and has found huge success. And just like this rumored Fallout spinoff, it was made by a different developer entirely, Virtuos Games. We gobbled up a next-gen remaster of Oblivion, and we would do the same with any classic Fallout title.

Still, you should note that Obsidian is also juggling several other major projects. These include Avowed, which just launched, and The Outer Worlds 2, scheduled for release later in 2025. So we don’t even know if the studio has the manpower for a Fallout project. But still, if true, a spin-off would at least give us something to play before the next big game.

All things considered, the reality is pretty sobering for us gamers. If we’re lucky, we might get a spinoff to help shorten the wait. But for the next true Fallout experience, we may be waiting until the early 2030s. Are we heading toward a 15- to 17-year gap between Fallout 4 and Fallout 5? Sadly, all signs point to yes.