TESVI Sentinel may be the end of the Elder Scrolls
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2026 1:14 pm
1. The Culture of Bethesda
Bethesda is not the same company it used to be. Virtually all those responsible for the creation of the games people loved from them are no longer involved. Some of the people now working there, as we see in the Oblivion Remastered reveal video, appear to be heavily engaged with a culture known to be responsible in part for the decline of the entertainment industry as a whole, sidelining merit and profit for political reasons. A number of these people were also seen to be let go of the company in a wave of recent layoffs. Unfortunately, these layoffs were likely only done as a cost-cutting measure by corporate, and not in effort to improve the studio's output.
2. Recent Releases
While Fallout 76 and Starfield have ended up being profitable for the company, fans and critics have made their displeasure with these games known. Exempli gratia, older titles, such as Fallout 4 and Skyrim, have consistently higher concurrent player counts on Steam. But perhaps the biggest red flag is Oblivion Remastered, which notoriously destroyed the original game's artistic identity, and has nearly disappeared from public consciousness owing greatly to poor performance and a lack of support.
On the topic of Starfield, many were severely disappointed with the game and its narrative, complaining that the main quest, side quests, and essentially the entire game's universe feel void of any meaningful engagement with the player. If this is at all indicative of the quality that can be expected from Sentinel, then the game will likely be met with the same dissatisfaction and disinterest after release.
3. Other AAA Games in the Western Gaming Industry
A significant number of games ranging from underperforming to downright disastrous have been released in recent years, all headed by the same culture that seems to be prevalent at Bethesda. Some of these games, such as BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, have spelt doom for their developers. Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed met commercial failure after its art director proudly spoke about their racist hiring practices. Other notable games include Concord, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Saint's Row (2022), The Outer Worlds 2, Gears of War E-Day, and Wolverine. The depressing reality is that The Elder Scrolls VI Sentinel will likely find itself on that list if future engagement with prospective customers does not improve. At the moment, the legacy of the franchise is the only thing the financial success of the game has to ride on.
4. Updates to TESV Skyrim and Emphasis on Creation Club's Paid Mods
Updates pushed for Skyrim well after the fact have drawn the ire of almost the entire fanbase. Updating the game breaks certain mods, which means any effected mod that is, understandably, unlikely to ever be updated will never work with the new version of the game. Bethesda seems to be willing to sacrifice community mods, which have and always will be the lifeblood of longevity for their games, in favor of their Creation Club experience, which was made solely in an attempt to generate recurrent user spending under the guise of trying to drive creativity through the promise of monetizing mod creators' work.
5. What Can Be Expected from Sentinel
The story of TESVI is expected to mostly, if not exclusively, take place in Hammerfell, the homeland of the Redguards, which are analogous to people of color. In years past, this information alone would not be much cause for concern. However, in the current climate, these decisions can be reasonably called into question as it is not unfounded to suspect that this was done explicitly to inject industry trends of emphasis on black characters. While such choices are arguably benign on the surface, the reality is that this was most likely politically charged. Contributing factors to this speculation include games such as Assassin's Creed Shadows, where fans expected a Japanese protagonist but were given a completely fictionalized representation of a little-known black figure. In other media, a push for inclusivity has lead to backlash for shows like Doctor Who and Harry Potter, and other historically and culturally significant characters continue to be intentionally replaced and represented by black actors.
In addition to these fears, others may simply be underwhelmed by the likelihood of the explorable world being mostly desert, a setting that many have grown tired of seeing, and potentially being indicative of the game's overall depth, as seen in Starfield.
---
I believe I expressed most of my concerns. Believe me, as a fan of the franchise, I would like nothing more than for my speculations to be disproven. I'd even gladly be socially reprimanded for my takes if it meant the game was actually great. However, at the time of writing this, I have zero interest in purchasing or playing many of the big name games being produced nowadays, and that includes Sentinel.
Bethesda is not the same company it used to be. Virtually all those responsible for the creation of the games people loved from them are no longer involved. Some of the people now working there, as we see in the Oblivion Remastered reveal video, appear to be heavily engaged with a culture known to be responsible in part for the decline of the entertainment industry as a whole, sidelining merit and profit for political reasons. A number of these people were also seen to be let go of the company in a wave of recent layoffs. Unfortunately, these layoffs were likely only done as a cost-cutting measure by corporate, and not in effort to improve the studio's output.
2. Recent Releases
While Fallout 76 and Starfield have ended up being profitable for the company, fans and critics have made their displeasure with these games known. Exempli gratia, older titles, such as Fallout 4 and Skyrim, have consistently higher concurrent player counts on Steam. But perhaps the biggest red flag is Oblivion Remastered, which notoriously destroyed the original game's artistic identity, and has nearly disappeared from public consciousness owing greatly to poor performance and a lack of support.
On the topic of Starfield, many were severely disappointed with the game and its narrative, complaining that the main quest, side quests, and essentially the entire game's universe feel void of any meaningful engagement with the player. If this is at all indicative of the quality that can be expected from Sentinel, then the game will likely be met with the same dissatisfaction and disinterest after release.
3. Other AAA Games in the Western Gaming Industry
A significant number of games ranging from underperforming to downright disastrous have been released in recent years, all headed by the same culture that seems to be prevalent at Bethesda. Some of these games, such as BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, have spelt doom for their developers. Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed met commercial failure after its art director proudly spoke about their racist hiring practices. Other notable games include Concord, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Saint's Row (2022), The Outer Worlds 2, Gears of War E-Day, and Wolverine. The depressing reality is that The Elder Scrolls VI Sentinel will likely find itself on that list if future engagement with prospective customers does not improve. At the moment, the legacy of the franchise is the only thing the financial success of the game has to ride on.
4. Updates to TESV Skyrim and Emphasis on Creation Club's Paid Mods
Updates pushed for Skyrim well after the fact have drawn the ire of almost the entire fanbase. Updating the game breaks certain mods, which means any effected mod that is, understandably, unlikely to ever be updated will never work with the new version of the game. Bethesda seems to be willing to sacrifice community mods, which have and always will be the lifeblood of longevity for their games, in favor of their Creation Club experience, which was made solely in an attempt to generate recurrent user spending under the guise of trying to drive creativity through the promise of monetizing mod creators' work.
5. What Can Be Expected from Sentinel
The story of TESVI is expected to mostly, if not exclusively, take place in Hammerfell, the homeland of the Redguards, which are analogous to people of color. In years past, this information alone would not be much cause for concern. However, in the current climate, these decisions can be reasonably called into question as it is not unfounded to suspect that this was done explicitly to inject industry trends of emphasis on black characters. While such choices are arguably benign on the surface, the reality is that this was most likely politically charged. Contributing factors to this speculation include games such as Assassin's Creed Shadows, where fans expected a Japanese protagonist but were given a completely fictionalized representation of a little-known black figure. In other media, a push for inclusivity has lead to backlash for shows like Doctor Who and Harry Potter, and other historically and culturally significant characters continue to be intentionally replaced and represented by black actors.
In addition to these fears, others may simply be underwhelmed by the likelihood of the explorable world being mostly desert, a setting that many have grown tired of seeing, and potentially being indicative of the game's overall depth, as seen in Starfield.
---
I believe I expressed most of my concerns. Believe me, as a fan of the franchise, I would like nothing more than for my speculations to be disproven. I'd even gladly be socially reprimanded for my takes if it meant the game was actually great. However, at the time of writing this, I have zero interest in purchasing or playing many of the big name games being produced nowadays, and that includes Sentinel.