Phil Spencer: The Elder Scrolls 6 will likely be Xbox and PC exclusive like Starfield

Skyrim Special Edition
Skyrim Special Edition (Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

What you need to know

  • Head of Xbox Phil Spencer spoke briefly on The Elder Scrolls 6 in an interview with GQ.
  • Spencer indicates that, like Starfield, The Elder Scrolls 6 will be exclusive to Xbox and PC.
  • This follows many, many prior indications that future Bethesda Softworks titles would be Xbox exclusives, now that the publisher is part of the Xbox first-party group.

If the news over the last year somehow wasn't enough, there's now even more indication that all future Bethesda Softworks games will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, including The Elder Scrolls 6. In an interview with GQ, head of Xbox Phil Spencer talked about his history at Xbox, planning for things moving forward and about how it was important to bring in Bethesda Softworks as Xbox first-party. Spencer also indicates that like Starfield, The Elder Scrolls 6 will be Xbox and PC exclusive.

"It's not about punishing any other platform, like I fundamentally believe all of the platforms can continue to grow," he says. "But in order to be on Xbox, I want us to be able to bring the full complete package of what we have. And that would be true when I think about Elder Scrolls VI. That would be true when I think about any of our franchises."

This shouldn't be too surprising, considering that Phil Spencer previously spoke about how Bethesda joining Xbox was about getting exclusive games "...on platforms where Game Pass exists."

Starfield is currently slated to launch on Nov. 11, 2022 on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Arkane Austin's Redfall, another Bethesda game that's exclusive, is scheduled to be available at some point in summer 2022. Like all Xbox first-party titles, both games will also launch into Xbox Game Pass.

Bethesda recently shared some of Starfield's concept art and a portion of the soundtrack, which is being composed by Inon Zur. This was accompanied by Bethesda Game Studios creative director Todd Howard affirming that the company's "passion" is for single-player games.

Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.