Elder Scrolls 6 Becomes Bethesda’s Primary Focus; Fallout 5 in Preproduction
Has put Fallout 5 into preproduction and made The Elder Scrolls 6 its primary development focus after an Xbox reset, according to a Bloomberg report tied to…
BETHESDA — Bethesda has put Fallout 5 in preproduction and made The Elder Scrolls 6 its “Primary Development Focus” after an Xbox reset, Bloomberg reported on July 17, 2026.
The move signals where one of gaming’s most closely watched studios is spending its time now. Fans waiting for the next Fallout will need patience. A lot of it.
Roadmap shifts after the reset
According to Bloomberg, the new Fallout roadmap comes after a broader shift inside Xbox that included layoffs. The report said Bethesda’s studio chief described The Elder Scrolls 6 as the team’s current priority, while Fallout 5 remains in preproduction.
That matters because both franchises sit near the center of Microsoft’s gaming strategy. Bethesda’s work tends to draw years of attention, and each public update changes expectations across the industry. A roadmap update is not a release date. It is a signal about where the studio’s best people are going first.
It also puts a clearer order on Bethesda’s next big bets. One project is moving forward in earnest. The other is still early.
What Todd Howard said
Bloomberg’s interview with Todd Howard, who leads Bethesda Game Studios, also touched on Fallout 5, The Elder Scrolls 6, and Starfield. The report framed the discussion around Bethesda’s plans following the Xbox reset.
Howard said The Elder Scrolls 6 is Bethesda’s “Primary Development Focus,” according to Bloomberg’s account. The same report said Fallout 5 is in preproduction. Those are the clearest markers yet of how Bethesda is dividing attention between its biggest franchises.
For players, that means the wait for new Fallout content stretches further out, even as the studio keeps the series active in planning. For Microsoft, it shows a familiar trade-off: focus on the long game, even when the fan base wants faster movement.
Short answer: patience.
Why this matters for players
The announcement carries immediate weight for Fallout fans because preproduction is still early. It is the stage where ideas, structure, and planning take shape before a game moves into fuller development. That makes the timeline for Fallout 5 longer, not shorter.
For The Elder Scrolls community, the update is different. It suggests Bethesda wants to keep its next mainline entry at the front of the queue, even while other franchises remain part of its larger portfolio. The studio is not abandoning Fallout. It is simply telling the world what comes first.
That order matters. Gaming communities watch these signals closely because they shape expectations, studio staffing, and what gets shown next. When a publisher as large as Microsoft resets priorities, the ripple reaches players who have been waiting years for sequels.
The Bloomberg report did not give a release window for either game. It did, however, make the hierarchy plain: The Elder Scrolls 6 first, Fallout 5 next in line.
What comes next at Bethesda
The report also pointed to Bethesda’s broader slate, including Starfield, as part of Howard’s conversation. But the headline takeaway was simple. Fallout is on the board. Elder Scrolls is the main target.
That is the message now coming out of Bethesda after the Xbox reset. And for millions of fans waiting for the next big reveal, the most important detail may be the one that feels the slowest: Fallout 5 is real, but it is still only in preproduction.
