Bethesda warned against rushing The Elder Scrolls VI release

Former Bethesda Game Studios lead designer Bruce Nesmith cautioned that shortening development cycles for upcoming titles such as The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 could compromise scope, polish and stability. He explained that development balances three factors – resources, time and quality – and that only two can be fixed without harming the third.

Nesmith said a fixed launch date without increased resources forces feature cuts and less time for optimization, while simply adding staff does not linearly increase productivity because coordination costs rise. He also noted that very long cycles have downsides, including shifting focus and potential loss of direction. The Elder Scrolls VI, announced in 2018, remains in development with no set release date.