Bethesda has confirmed that the next Elder Scrolls game is titled Sentinel, ending eight years of silence since its 2018 announcement.
The next Elder Scrolls game is titled Sentinel, Bethesda announced in a short teaser with no gameplay. First announced at E3 2018, it has not had a new teaser since then.
A character from the game’s world speaks in the teaser, which depicts wind uncovering an Elder Scroll buried beneath sand and includes spiral imagery. The quote is dated 4E 206, five years after the events of Skyrim.
The scroll offered only a shimmer, a veil lifted thinly to my eyes. A future lost. A victory undone. Sands of time scattered by fate.
Fans linked the title Sentinel and the teaser to Hammerfell, where Sentinel is an important city. The Nov. 3 reveal confirmed the setting. The Elder Scrolls Online also features Sentinel.
Hammerfell borders Skyrim, Cyrodil and High Rock. In the Fourth Era, it went from a divided Imperial province to an independent nation, IGN said.
In 4E 175, Emperor Titus Mede II offered the Thalmor a large part of Hammerfell, hoping to end The Great War. The Thalmor are an Elven supremacist political faction and an extremist paramilitary force within the Aldmeri Dominion.
Elven forces began The Great War with a surprise assault on southern Hammerfell in 4E 171. They overwhelmed the Imperial Legions, driving them to retreat through the desert. The Redguards viewed the peace offer as betrayal and refused to cede their territory. Hammerfell was then renounced and became a sovereign nation.
During Skyrim’s Dragon Crisis, Hammerfell is a battle-hardened republic. The indigenous Redguards still feel deep bitterness toward the Imperial throne for abandoning them, but they maintain active trade and diplomatic ties with individual provinces like High Rock.
Sentient and indestructible, the Elder Scrolls are artifacts holding knowledge of the past, present and future. They can’t be counted, and their origins are unknown. Despite the franchise bearing their name and their power, no game has made the Elder Scrolls its central plot focus.
The Verge reported last month that Sentinel will explore the history of the Elder Scrolls, giving players a first chance to uncover their secrets themselves.
The northwestern-most region of Tamriel, High Rock is home to the Bretons and may also appear in the game. It borders Skyrim and Hammerfell and is relatively small beside those two regions, making it suitable for DLC or a place in the main game. Hammerfell’s setting draws on Middle Eastern and North African culture and geography, while High Rock has Arthurian vibes.
Between High Rock and Hammerfell, the Iliac Bay served as the main setting for The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall. A long-standing rumor about The Elder Scrolls 6 suggests players may be able to sail in some form.
The Dwemer, the Elder Scrolls franchise's counterpart to dwarves, are among the series’ greatest mysteries. The race vanished from the world after meddling with the powerful artifact called the Heart of Lorkhan. Yagrum Bagarn, the only known Dwemer to have been away visiting other planes of existence during the disappearance, appears in Morrowind.
Fans wonder whether the game’s setting will also be 4E 206. If so, Sentinel’s events would take place just five years after Skyrim.
This quote being 4E 206 doesn't mean the game will take place around then, but it's possible
If that is when it takes place, the Dragonborn will likely be in Skyrim during the events of Sentinel. We would probably see dragons coming over the border and the civil war would almost certainly not have a victor yet. What else would this mean for Sentinel if this is the timeline of the game?
Most of the issues present in Cyrodiil as of Skyrim (like the encroachment of the Aldmeri Dominion) likely still apply
But fans note the game could be set much later than five years after Skyrim.
All we know is that the game is set AT LEAST 5 years after Skyrim, it very well could be 20, 50, or 100 years after
5 years after the events of Skyrim, a Moth Priest had a prediction about the future, glimpsed in an Elder Scroll. How far into the future, we just don't know
Jason Schreier defended his report in a post he shared on The Elder Scrolls 6 subreddit. He said he had told fans Sentinel was more than two years from release because the information was true and reporting accurate facts was his job. He said fans had reacted in much the same way to his reporting on Fallout 76 and Starfield.
The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel may not arrive for at least two years. Pocketgamer reports The Elder Scrolls VI is likely at least a year or more out from release.
Other Elder Scrolls titles include The Elder Scrolls: Castles, a mobile game where players oversee a fortress and a family dynasty. The Elder Scrolls: Blades was shuttered earlier this year. The N-Gage game series The Elder Scrolls Travels sent players to regions such as Stormhold in Black Marsh, Dawnstar in Skyrim and Hammerfell.
What is confirmed
Via a short non-gameplay teaser, Bethesda confirmed the title as Sentinel. It was the first new teaser since E3 2018.
The teaser ends with words attributed to Yazar, a Moth Priest serving High Queen Irande of Hammerfell. Dated 4E 206, five years after the events of Skyrim, the passage describes a glimpse of a lost future and a victory undone.
Based on the teaser and the title Sentinel, a major city in Hammerfell, fans speculate the game will be set there. The Nov. 3 reveal confirmed Hammerfell as the setting.
What remains unknown
The connection between the teaser's spiral imagery and the Eye of Magnus is speculative and unconfirmed.
Release window reports differ
Release window claims
Jason Schreier
Reported
- Still more than two years away from launch.
- Doubled down in a subreddit post.
Pocketgamer
Reported
- Likely at least a year or more out from release.
- E3 2018Announcement The Elder Scrolls VI is first announced.
- 4E 206In-universe date The quote in the teaser is dated 4E 206, five years after Skyrim.
- Nov. 3Title reveal Bethesda confirms the title Sentinel via a non-gameplay teaser.
- ReportedRelease window Jason Schreier says more than two years away; Pocketgamer says at least a year or more.
What we know
- Bethesda confirmed the title as Sentinel.
- The teaser was the first since E3 2018.
- The teaser quote is dated 4E 206.
- The game will take place in Hammerfell.
Still unclear
- The exact release date.
- Whether the game will be set in 4E 206 or another time period.
- How the events of Skyrim will be referenced or seen in Sentinel.
- Whether the game will include High Rock in addition to Hammerfell.
- The connection between the teaser's spiral imagery and the Eye of Magnus.
