CerebralHawk
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Starfield is Bethesda's next big project, an all-new IP ostensibly set in space, and it's been mostly confirmed as the next major release from Bethesda Game Studios. We were hoping for it this year, since it's been five years since Fallout 4, which came out just four years after Skyrim, which came out an even shorter three years after Fallout 3, which came out just two years after Oblivion. Bethesda has broken their "previous time + 1 year" pattern, if you're not counting side games like The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout Shelter, that Elder Scrolls card game, and Fallout 76.
But even if Starfield comes out next year, in 2021, we're probably looking at at least five or six years before The Elder Scrolls VI, and at that point, both Microsoft and Sony will be working on the next Xbox and PlayStation already. Considering the Xbox 360 came out in 2006 and the PlayStation 3 in 2007, and the Xbox One came out in 2013 and the PlayStation 4, around the same time. Consider also that midway through last cycle, we also got the Xbox One X and the PlayStation 4 Pro, not to mention PSVR. So last generation was busy, but we still got the current systems about seven years later. So 2027 is a reasonable time for PS6 and Xbox Whatever to come out. (Not dissing Xbox, but its naming scheme makes it hard to predict the name of the next one. "Xbox Zero" and "Xbox Halo" are both as reasonable as "Xbox Two" or "Xbox Infinity.") If Starfield comes out in 2021, and The Elder Scrolls VI comes out in 2027, it could come out on both PS5/XBSX and PS6 and the next Xbox, kind of like Cyberpunk 2077 is doing in a couple weeks for current and last gen systems.
But wait. What if Bethesda trolls us all, and it turns out they were working on Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI at the same time? How cool would that be? Well, they aren't going to cannibalize Starfield sales by dropping The Elder Scrolls VI. That would be dumb. So, here's how the troll plays out. E3 2021, Starfield trailer followed by typical Bethesda November release date. November 2021, Starfield drops. 2022, we get 3–5 expansions for Starfield. E3 2022, they talk about Starfield and its expansions, and tease the last one, which is huge. E3 2023, Elder Scrolls VI trailer... and November 2023 release date. An almost unprecedented two year turnaround.
Of course, you could say they're working on all three (Starfield, The Elder Scrolls VI, and Fallout 5) and apply the same logic to get Fallout 5 out by 2025, well within the PS5/XBSX lifetime, but it's highly unlikely that Bethesda Game Studios is working on three AAA games at once. It's highly unlikely, though a bit further from impossible, that they're working on two at once.
However you cut it, while PlayStation fans are fearing they won't see a Fallout release on PS5, Xbox fans shouldn't be much more hopeful.
So, how should Bethesda make up for a lack of new Fallout on the current generation?
Let's address the elephant in the room. Todd Howard doesn't want to remake the old games. So, backwards compatibility to allow Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition and Fallout 4: SPECIAL Edition to play on XBSX is probably a priority. Oddly, backward compatibility has been announced for Skyrim but not Fallout 4, which is suspicious as hell. Yeah, they want Skyrim on everything, ha ha, that's the joke, but really, Fallout 4 is the newer title and deserves more attention. Plus, it was practically DOA on XB1, so making it playable/completable on XBSX should be a priority. I wonder if there'll be a new edition of Fallout 4 for XBSX. Consider the Creation Club content. Most of it was shit, but what if they integrated the best of it with the base/SPECIAL game? Take the coffee/brick pack, no quest from the beginning, but you can still get the franchise kit, and there's a way to hear about it. Or the dogs. You shouldn't get a dozen quests out of the Vault, but you should be able to stumble upon the dogs out in the wild wherever they all are (I know about the two I got) and adopt them. The settlement ambush kit is another one that should be included. And the Power Armor, Pip-Boy, armor, and weapon skins. Maybe a couple of the extra guns. Or, if Bethesda wanna really swing for the fences... maybe include Sim Settlements 2 when it's done? How awesome would that be? I dunno. Highlighting it in the news pane is pretty epic.
They'll probably port Fallout Shelter and Fallout 76 to at least the XBSX, because those do make money, and like Fortnite, they're kind of everywhere already anyway. Except Apple, because they "think different."
It sure would be nice to see a remake of Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas using the Fallout 4 engine, though. A bundle of the two of them together, with all their DLC, for $60, would probably sell pretty well for the XBSX, and PS5 as well (why not? both games were originally licensed to Sony, no reason they shouldn't be again). I'd drop $40 on the set for PC without a second thought, and would consider it at higher price points.
Going back to Fallout 5... I wonder if they're even thinking about it or where it'll be set or anything like that. I have a great idea for it, I'll probably share in a future thread.
But even if Starfield comes out next year, in 2021, we're probably looking at at least five or six years before The Elder Scrolls VI, and at that point, both Microsoft and Sony will be working on the next Xbox and PlayStation already. Considering the Xbox 360 came out in 2006 and the PlayStation 3 in 2007, and the Xbox One came out in 2013 and the PlayStation 4, around the same time. Consider also that midway through last cycle, we also got the Xbox One X and the PlayStation 4 Pro, not to mention PSVR. So last generation was busy, but we still got the current systems about seven years later. So 2027 is a reasonable time for PS6 and Xbox Whatever to come out. (Not dissing Xbox, but its naming scheme makes it hard to predict the name of the next one. "Xbox Zero" and "Xbox Halo" are both as reasonable as "Xbox Two" or "Xbox Infinity.") If Starfield comes out in 2021, and The Elder Scrolls VI comes out in 2027, it could come out on both PS5/XBSX and PS6 and the next Xbox, kind of like Cyberpunk 2077 is doing in a couple weeks for current and last gen systems.
But wait. What if Bethesda trolls us all, and it turns out they were working on Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI at the same time? How cool would that be? Well, they aren't going to cannibalize Starfield sales by dropping The Elder Scrolls VI. That would be dumb. So, here's how the troll plays out. E3 2021, Starfield trailer followed by typical Bethesda November release date. November 2021, Starfield drops. 2022, we get 3–5 expansions for Starfield. E3 2022, they talk about Starfield and its expansions, and tease the last one, which is huge. E3 2023, Elder Scrolls VI trailer... and November 2023 release date. An almost unprecedented two year turnaround.
Of course, you could say they're working on all three (Starfield, The Elder Scrolls VI, and Fallout 5) and apply the same logic to get Fallout 5 out by 2025, well within the PS5/XBSX lifetime, but it's highly unlikely that Bethesda Game Studios is working on three AAA games at once. It's highly unlikely, though a bit further from impossible, that they're working on two at once.
However you cut it, while PlayStation fans are fearing they won't see a Fallout release on PS5, Xbox fans shouldn't be much more hopeful.
So, how should Bethesda make up for a lack of new Fallout on the current generation?
Let's address the elephant in the room. Todd Howard doesn't want to remake the old games. So, backwards compatibility to allow Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition and Fallout 4: SPECIAL Edition to play on XBSX is probably a priority. Oddly, backward compatibility has been announced for Skyrim but not Fallout 4, which is suspicious as hell. Yeah, they want Skyrim on everything, ha ha, that's the joke, but really, Fallout 4 is the newer title and deserves more attention. Plus, it was practically DOA on XB1, so making it playable/completable on XBSX should be a priority. I wonder if there'll be a new edition of Fallout 4 for XBSX. Consider the Creation Club content. Most of it was shit, but what if they integrated the best of it with the base/SPECIAL game? Take the coffee/brick pack, no quest from the beginning, but you can still get the franchise kit, and there's a way to hear about it. Or the dogs. You shouldn't get a dozen quests out of the Vault, but you should be able to stumble upon the dogs out in the wild wherever they all are (I know about the two I got) and adopt them. The settlement ambush kit is another one that should be included. And the Power Armor, Pip-Boy, armor, and weapon skins. Maybe a couple of the extra guns. Or, if Bethesda wanna really swing for the fences... maybe include Sim Settlements 2 when it's done? How awesome would that be? I dunno. Highlighting it in the news pane is pretty epic.
They'll probably port Fallout Shelter and Fallout 76 to at least the XBSX, because those do make money, and like Fortnite, they're kind of everywhere already anyway. Except Apple, because they "think different."
It sure would be nice to see a remake of Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas using the Fallout 4 engine, though. A bundle of the two of them together, with all their DLC, for $60, would probably sell pretty well for the XBSX, and PS5 as well (why not? both games were originally licensed to Sony, no reason they shouldn't be again). I'd drop $40 on the set for PC without a second thought, and would consider it at higher price points.
Going back to Fallout 5... I wonder if they're even thinking about it or where it'll be set or anything like that. I have a great idea for it, I'll probably share in a future thread.