Todd Howard made a Reddit post. That’s it, that’s the story — and anyone who has tracked Bethesda over the last ten years knows why that qualifies as news on its own.
This is the studio behind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the Fallout games, a series it wrested creative control of from Obsidian Entertainment, and it has spent the past few years saying next to nothing while its fanbase waited on its marquee projects. Howard finally cracked the silence.
What Bethesda quietly confirmed in July
In July, the company published an official roadmap post on its website. Fallout 5 sits in pre-production, and it’s being developed on the Creation Engine 3.
That wasn’t all. Remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are both in the works. On top of that, Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment are reportedly collaborating on an entirely new Fallout game, although almost nothing has been said about it.
It reads well on paper. The problem: The Elder Scrolls VI holds the top spot on Bethesda’s priority list right now, so every single one of those Fallout projects sits years down the road.
Eight years and not even a release window
The Elder Scrolls VI got its first reveal back in 2018 by way of an extremely short teaser trailer. Eight years on, there’s still no confirmed release window — not even an approximate one — and a good chunk of the audience has decided it may still be years off.
Starfield, the studio’s newest RPG, was widely written off as a flop in the meantime. Updates keep arriving for it regardless. The same goes for Fallout 76.
All of that sets the stage for Howard’s charm offensive.
Howard goes to r/Games
To flesh out the announcement, Howard headed over to r/Games in person.
“Hey Reddit. I’m a professional lurker and read your comments all the time. Many here do and we deeply appreciate all the passion for our work. I know I don’t really post, and we’re usually very quiet. Today’s info was an attempt at changing that and letting everyone know what we’ve been working on the past several years, and a look at what’s coming. So know we’re constantly listening and keep telling us how to be even better. You’d be surprised how many great ideas I get from Reddit. So upvote your favorite and we’ll do it. Maybe,” Howard said.
That closing “Maybe” is carrying an awful lot of weight.
The comments were not charmed
Fans, still bruised by the long stretch without news, turned up in the replies with receipts in hand.
“Todd Howard when Microsoft suddenly realizes waiting two decades for a new Fallout is a dumb idea,” read one reply. Someone else homed in on the remasters: “I’d hope this new energy includes better performance from the 3 and NV remasters. Oblivion is abandoned and its soured my hype for Fallout.”
Another was blunter still: “Do recall they announced ES6 eight years ago as a ploy. Expect nothing from Bethesda unless they have s*it to show.”
No trailer, no images, no date
And here’s what stops the whole thing from landing: no trailers accompanied the reveal, and no promotional images either. Just a post on a website and a comment on Reddit.
Which leaves fans exactly where they’ve stood since 2018 — staring down an empty road, hoping something finally appears on it.