💀 Anyone else terrified TES6 will just be another shallow, watered-down sandbox?

[Clownory]

The more I look at the current state of Bethesda, the more I'm convinced that The Elder Scrolls VI is going to be a massive disappointment for actual RPG fans.

Instead of pushing the limits of deep roleplaying, Bethesda keeps stripping mechanics away to chase casual players. If TES6 follows the same path as Starfield, the golden era of Elder Scrolls is dead. Here are the real issues:

• Shallow RPG Systems (Dumbing it Down): We don't want a "modern audience" game. We want deep stat systems, complex factions, real choices, and consequences. Starfield proved their current writing and quest design are safe, sterile, and completely lacking the grit and depth that made Skyrim and Oblivion legendary.
  
• Technologically Dated Engine: Pushing a roleplaying experience to its limits requires seamless worlds and advanced AI. Instead, their engine tech is stuck in the past—relying on constant loading screens, invisible walls, and stiff animations that shatter immersion.
  
• Single-Player Microtransactions: Bethesda’s obsession with locking basic content behind paid mods and the Creation Club is dynamic rot. They are focusing more on how to monetize your single-player game on day one than how to make a deep, hand-crafted world.

Honestly? Todd Howard needs to step down or be replaced.

Not by some corporate executive looking for a "modern audience," but by someone who actually wants to make an uncompromising, hardcore RPG again. Todd's current philosophy is stuck on creating empty, procedural sandboxes. If Bethesda wants to save their future, they need leadership that respects old-school RPG depth and has the guts to push it to the absolute limit.

Are we getting a real RPG, or is the next Elder Scrolls doomed to be a casual cash-grab?

[Durxa]

The best new Elder Scrolls is going to be the Beyond Skyrim mod series and upcoming fan remakes of older games. Bethesda is a shadow of what they once were.

[Clownory]

Originally posted by Durxa:

The best new Elder Scrolls is going to be the Beyond Skyrim mod series and upcoming fan remakes of older games. Bethesda is a shadow of what they once were.

I'm sooo hyped for the Beyond Skyrim mod series! they are the last good things true with this franchies. Crazy when you realize modders are more talented than the original studio!

[peppermint hollows]

Todd Howard stepping down won't fix the problems with Bethesda and their most recent games. He's hardly responsible for the things that people have hated about the recent games or the dumbing down of story or gameplay that people complain about. Then again this thread was written by AI anyway.

[Clownory]

Originally posted by peppermint hollows:

Todd Howard stepping down won't fix the problems with Bethesda and their most recent games. He's hardly responsible for the things that people have hated about the recent games or the dumbing down of story or gameplay that people complain about. Then again this thread was written by AI anyway.

Pretending the Executive Producer and Game Director isn't responsible for the strategic direction of his own games is absolute top-tier cope.

Todd Howard literally calls the shots on the studio's design philosophy. He is the one who greenlit stripping away deep RPG mechanics in favor of empty, procedural sandboxes. On top of that, the guy is an absolute living meme for his decade-long history of overpromising and outright lying during development cycles ("It just works," "16 times the detail"). Changing the leadership at the top is exactly how a studio changes its direction.

Also, trying to dismiss a valid criticism by crying "this was written by AI" just because you don't agree with it is the ultimate NPC deflection. Coming into a discussion thread with zero actual counter-arguments and just parroting "uhh, AI!" is a textbook bot response.

Try actually addressing the points next time.

[peppermint hollows]

Originally posted by Clownory:

Originally posted by peppermint hollows:

Todd Howard stepping down won't fix the problems with Bethesda and their most recent games. He's hardly responsible for the things that people have hated about the recent games or the dumbing down of story or gameplay that people complain about. Then again this thread was written by AI anyway.

Pretending the Executive Producer and Game Director isn't responsible for the strategic direction of his own games is absolute top-tier cope.

Todd Howard literally calls the shots on the studio's design philosophy. He is the one who greenlit stripping away deep RPG mechanics in favor of empty, procedural sandboxes. On top of that, the guy is an absolute living meme for his decade-long history of overpromising and outright lying during development cycles ("It just works," "16 times the detail"). Changing the leadership at the top is exactly how a studio changes its direction.

Also, trying to dismiss a valid criticism by crying "this was written by AI" just because you don't agree with it is the ultimate NPC deflection. Coming into a discussion thread with zero actual counter-arguments and just parroting "uhh, AI!" is a textbook bot response.

Try actually addressing the points next time.

Except it definitely was written by AI, and for whatever reason you decided to post this exact same thread in multiple hubs. Not sure if you're aware, but awards don't grant points anymore.

Regardless, Todd has been less and less directly involved with the development of Bethesda's games over time. It's quite easy to blame him when he acts as a public-facing figure for the company but if you want to find the source of the flaws these recent games have you need to take a closer look at who's behind what in each game.

After all, it wasn't Todd Howard who wrote Skyrim's lame as hell main questline but Emil Pagliarulo. He's done a lot of writing for Bethesda games and has moved up to a bigger role over time. He was also the lead writer for Fallout 4. You should go listen to the things he has to say about how players interact with games and their stories - but to give you the short version, he expresses openly that he sees players as the enemy to a good story in games. It really says a lot about how he views writing for games and explains a lot of the narrative decisions in the game's he's acted as a lead writer for.

And on the gameplay side of things, Bruce Nesmith was Skyrim's lead designer. He is the one behind a lot of the gameplay systems in the game. Keep in mind that prior to this it was actually Ken Rolston who was behind the gameplay systems of Elder Scrolls games (at least for Morrowind and Oblivion, not sure about the first two games).

It's not to say that Todd Howard isn't responsible for anything at all but if you actually bother to research the development of Skyrim (and there are plenty of resources out there) it's not just one guy who is responsible for dumbing down everything. Hence why I called your post AI written. It's just generic criticisms that you can see everywhere on reddit memeing on Todd Howard.

[p a p i]

the elder scrolls india is gonna be lit

[ImHelping]

I'm terrified of another "I got a 64 gigs of ram modern PC and it still runs worse than oblivion did on my xbox 360" game where ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ things with console commands needs you to mod in console commands with three supporting mods for console commands to work, yes.

Best thing that came out of starfield was 'well that is a pretty nice steam icon user background I guess'. I gave up after too many things ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ retroactivley broke something even for a bethseda game. and too many cases of 'and then remodeling the ship deleted the bathroom or bed or both unless I build in a zigzag like a crazy person'.

[Halcyform]

It's going to be another degen simulator that "AAA" studios put out these days. The only thing to be decided is which one will be worse: TES 6 or the new God of War.

[Nitemares]

Originally posted by Clownory:

The more I look at the current state of Bethesda, the more I'm convinced that The Elder Scrolls VI is going to be a massive disappointment for actual RPG fans.

Instead of pushing the limits of deep roleplaying, Bethesda keeps stripping mechanics away to chase casual players. If TES6 follows the same path as Starfield, the golden era of Elder Scrolls is dead. Here are the real issues:

• Shallow RPG Systems (Dumbing it Down): We don't want a "modern audience" game. We want deep stat systems, complex factions, real choices, and consequences. Starfield proved their current writing and quest design are safe, sterile, and completely lacking the grit and depth that made Skyrim and Oblivion legendary.
  
• Technologically Dated Engine: Pushing a roleplaying experience to its limits requires seamless worlds and advanced AI. Instead, their engine tech is stuck in the past—relying on constant loading screens, invisible walls, and stiff animations that shatter immersion.
  
• Single-Player Microtransactions: Bethesda’s obsession with locking basic content behind paid mods and the Creation Club is dynamic rot. They are focusing more on how to monetize your single-player game on day one than how to make a deep, hand-crafted world.

Honestly? Todd Howard needs to step down or be replaced.

Not by some corporate executive looking for a "modern audience," but by someone who actually wants to make an uncompromising, hardcore RPG again. Todd's current philosophy is stuck on creating empty, procedural sandboxes. If Bethesda wants to save their future, they need leadership that respects old-school RPG depth and has the guts to push it to the absolute limit.

Are we getting a real RPG, or is the next Elder Scrolls doomed to be a casual cash-grab?

Careful Dude...

Bethesda is going to hire private instigators to come after you for knowing their "Special Formula to making games"!!!

[SpeedFreak1972]

Not terrified more a given fact.

[Abisha]

to be fair it not really matters who you put in the chair, it's the company that's rotten.
funny fact it don't matter what they produce so long it holds the game title gamers buy it...

[Af reiði]

In the 70`s there was a Swedish tv show called Albert & Herbert.
It was a story of a very childish dad incapable of taking care of himself and being alone, so he is living at his son's home.
In one of the episodes the dad is watching a movie where a train passes a window just when the woman living there is about to undress.
He kept watching the movie over and over again until his son finally asks, "why do you keep watching it ?"
"I am hoping the train is late"

Whenever i see someone clinging to the hope that ES6 will somehow be different from the diluted mess we have grown accustomed to, that scene always pop into my head.

[a player]

It is on it's 6th installment it doesn't have to be good anymore.

Edit: any game that has suggestive fan made artwork doesn't have to be good anymore.

[Rocket Chimp]

Why have you used Chat GPT to write this?

[Karna5]

How many people who play Skyrim LE/SE/AE 15 years after it came out still the vanilla game.

How many people still playing this game have played it for thousands of hours.

It absolutely doesn't matter what Elder Scrolls 6 vanilla game will be. The vanilla game will at best count for 100 to 300 hours of play time. After that, it'll be all modded stuff, and that will carry the game for thousands of hours.

This isn't a game like Crimson Desert which doesn't support modding so is limited to the vanilla game for how long you can play it.

Fallout, Elder Scrolls and Starfield are all about the modded experience.

This said, I'm certain I will love Elder Scrolls 6 just like I love all the Fallout games and even Starfield. Bethesda makes a lot of crappy games, but its core RPGs with modding are best in the field, perhaps only rivaled by Cyberpunk 2077 and Bannerlord.