New Xbox Survey Confirms My Worst Elder Scrolls VI Fear Could Come True

When Skyrim first released back in 2011, I was in my first year at college. The Xbox 360 was my brother’s console, so it stayed home in Ohio. As such, the love affair I sensed I’d one day have with Skyrim had to wait. But it was on another Xbox 360, gifted to me by a friend, that I first explored the world of Tamriel. Ironic, since I’ve seldom touched an Xbox controller before or since. Thankfully, my love affair with The Elder Scrolls hasn’t come with an Xbox ownership pre-req. But the rumblings coming out of Microsoft have me good and worried about what might come to pass with The Elder Scrolls VI.

Prior comments from everyone from CEO Asha Sharma to Bethesda lead Todd Howard have made it clear Xbox isn’t ready to make a call on Xbox exclusivity for Elder Scrolls VI. The franchise has been a multi-platform joint since the 2006 release of Oblivion, following a single Xbox console exclusive launch with Morrowind. But as Sharma leads Xbox back towards console exclusives, the status of one of the company’s biggest upcoming projects hangs in the balance. And a new survey from Microsoft suggests that the company is at least considering making Elder Scrolls VI an Xbox exclusive.

Elder Scrolls VI Is On Microsoft’s List of Potential Xbox Exclusives

Not long ago, Xbox claimed it was nixing console exclusives altogether. But under the iron grip of its new CEO, the company has backpedaled on that. Recent releases like Gears of War: E-Day have returned to the Xbox console exclusive model. That leaves many gamers curious about what the future holds for ot her major Xbox-owned IPs. That open question got another interesting data point when a survey went out to select Xbox Insider Program members.

According to Windows Central, the survey rolled out on October 14th with a list of questions about how certain timed console exclusives might impact future purchase decisions. Among the titles pitched as potential exclusives were big names like Fallout, Diablo, and most importantly for my own purposes, The Elder Scrolls. In fact, one of the questions poses the idea that “all future title releases from every Xbox-developed gaming franchise except Call of Duty will be console-exclusive to XBOX.” The mere idea of it is a far cry from the Xbox strategy of just a year ago. And for those of us who love those franchises, it’s a scary question.

Of course, a survey like this doesn’t prove much except that Microsoft is interested in gathering feedback. Surveys often ask all kinds of questions to gauge reactions, and they’re far from a guarantee that a company is going to pull the trigger on ideas presented there. But it does add another piece of evidence to suggest that Xbox is weighing its options for when Elder Scrolls VI release day finally comes. And I’ll be honest: as a non-Xbox user, I don’t like it.

Pivoting a Multi-Platform Franchise Back to Exclusive Status Feels Like Leaving Loyal Fans Behind

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why Microsoft and Xbox are asking these questions. It’s clear that the gaming company is struggling financially, and that means looking at ways to increase buy-in. Historically, console-exclusive games have helped sell consoles, and Xbox has certainly lost ground there in recent years. But there’s a big difference between the landscape of the Xbox 360 era, where every console had its exclusive franchises, and today.

When I was growing up, each console had its lineup of exclusive franchises. Over the years, those barriers have largely fallen away, especially between Xbox and PS5. Nintendo is kind of doing its own thing over there, like always. But for the past several years, many of us have come to expect that most major games in series that have previously been cross-platform will, once again, be available on our console or PC of choice. That’s what makes the idea of Elder Scrolls VI as an Xbox exclusive release feel different than, say, the latest Insomniac game arriving on PS5 or Mario Party targeting a Nintendo release.

Pivoting a franchise that’s previously offered cross-platform launches to console-exclusive status is… a choice. And as someone who games on basically everything but an Xbox, it’s a choice that feels very much like Xbox would be taking something away from me. Growing up, I didn’t expect to play Halo on my PlayStation or enjoy the next Pokemon game on PC. But Skyrim has been released for just about every platform imaginable over the years, and Oblivion Remastered was a multi-console launch, as well. So going into the highly-anticipated Elder Scrolls 6 with Xbox exclusivity would feel, for many of us, like a step backwards. After all, we’ve been waiting on the game for 8 years at this point. For most of that time, we’ve all pretty much assumed it would follow the trend of a multi-platform release like its predecessors. So going exclusive after all this time would be a pretty big shift. And I’m not sure it’d hit the way Xbox wants it to.

Today’s Economy Is Killing the Multi-Console Household, Making Exclusives an Even Bigger Gamble

Let’s be honest: gaming is expensive. Gaming consoles and individual game titles certainly haven’t gotten cheaper in recent years, and neither has much of anything else. While my husband and I have multiple consoles in our household now, it’s pretty unlikely we’ll be able to adopt the next gen in a multi-platform way. With the rising cost of living in the United States, compounded by higher console prices thanks to the data shortage, we simply won’t be able to afford it. And I know we’re not alone in that.

Here’s why that’s relevant. Taking big games like Elder Scrolls VI back to Xbox console exclusivity would be a bid to sell more Xbox consoles. In an ideal scenario (for Xbox), huge Elder Scrolls fans like me would bite the bullet and buy a dang Xbox if we want to play the new game so badly. As a bid to “win” the next generation of the console wars, that might work as a gambit. If Elder Scrolls VI skips the current generation altogether, it certainly could sway users towards an Xbox Helix over the PS6. I know I’d have to think long and hard about my history with Sony if that was the case.

But the reality is, many gamers simply can’t afford to be a multi-console household. So if, say, you already have a PS5, you’re not likely to buy an Xbox Series X|S at this stage of the game, and vice versa. That means that, if Elder Scrolls VI instead arrived as an Xbox Series X|S exclusive, I doubt it would do much to move the needle. As much as it pains me to say it, I couldn’t afford to buy a Series X just because I love The Elder Scrolls. Those things are just too expensive, especially when going to the grocery store is starting to feel like a luxury experience. At the rate we’re going, it’s not likely most of us will be early adopters for the next console generation at all. That means that, whether it would be exclusive to this generation of Xbox or the next, making Elder Scrolls VI exclusive after years of multi-platform expectations from fans is more likely to limit the potential fanbase than help Xbox’s bottom line.

Looking for more Elder Scrolls content? Check out this column about how Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 replaced Skyrim in one of our writers’ hearts (but don’t worry: never mine).

About the Author

Amanda Kay Oaks

Editor

Amanda Kay Oaks is a writer, book witch, and video game enthusiast based in Latrobe, PA. She writes about books, games, and more from an office packed with crystals and Pokemon plushies. When not engrossed in work or fictional worlds, Amanda can be found in the kitchen, on her yoga mat, or walking her dog, Azula.

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