Bethesda Game Studios has laid out what it is working on in a blog post published on July 17, weeks after Microsoft began a round of cuts that Polygon reports will remove roughly 3,200 roles from its gaming division over the course of a year, about half of them already announced. The update confirms remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, a new Fallout project with Obsidian Entertainment, and that Fallout 5 has entered preproduction.
The Elder Scrolls VI remains the studio’s primary focus, with what Bethesda describes as the majority of its team working on it. Both it and Fallout 5 are being built on new shared technology.
Our teams are now developing The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 on Creation Engine 3, a shared technology platform we’ve been building since Starfield’s launch. It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games.
The Fallout slate
Bethesda called Fallout "one of our biggest priorities today" and said multiple projects are in active development. The Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters were confirmed without release windows; PC Gamer notes both had been rumoured for some time, and Rock Paper Shotgun points out the Fallout 3 remaster appeared in a release schedule document leaked during Microsoft’s court battle with the FTC over the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
The Obsidian collaboration, previously reported, is now official, though Bethesda gave no detail beyond confirming the studio "working with us on a new Fallout project". Fallout 76 is also getting a 2027 expansion called Raven Rock, described as a prequel to Fallout 3. Rock Paper Shotgun reports Bethesda will skip its usual October 23 Fallout Day broadcast this year in favour of something planned for the series’ 30th anniversary in 2027, when Fallout Day will be marked live in Washington, D.C.
Starfield and The Elder Scrolls Online
Bethesda said Starfield "remains an important part of our future", citing more than 17 million players and close to a billion hours played since its September 2023 launch, helped by day-one Game Pass availability and an April PlayStation 5 port. The studio promised new stories, targeted gameplay improvements and further updates as it prepares new Starborn content for next year, and said it would keep investing in the Creation Kit, which Polygon reports more than 40% of players use.
On the MMO side, ZeniMax Online Studios will "partner closely" with Bethesda Game Studios on The Elder Scrolls franchise while continuing to work on The Elder Scrolls Online, whose first season launched on July 8. PC Gamer reads that consolidation as a response to studios hit hard by the layoffs rather than a purely creative decision. No release date was given for The Elder Scrolls VI, though Bethesda acknowledged "it’s been a very long wait for the sequel".
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