Despite all the time spent waiting forThe Elder Scrolls 6, very little has officially been revealed since the infamous trailer back in 2018. Bethesda has had to come out and reassure people that the game is actually being worked on, and the studio’s slow pace has hurt Bethesda in many ways, withFalloutfans beginning to get restless too. Still, the location forES6has long since been theorized.
Although it hasn’t been officially revealed yet,many have suggested that Hammerfell is the likely destination for the game, for several reasons. The most compelling is that it’s the safe choice for the game, lacking the alien nature of many other locations. Some recent comments from a former Bethesda developer seem to suggest this too, with him even talking about the far-flung future involvingThe Elder Scrolls 7.
Kurt Kuhlmann’s Comments On ES7 Makes ES6’s Location Obvious
It Won’t Be Somewhere Very Alien
In an interview withKIWI TALKZon YouTube,Kurt Kuhlmann, a former game designer for Bethesda and the ex-lore master ofThe Elder Scrolls,talks about future Bethesda projects, including bothES6andES7. His specific comments can be more easily seen in a clip of the full interview onKIWI TALKZ’s X profile, where Kuhlmann mentions thatES7won’t use Black Marsh or Elsweyr. This shouldn’t really be a surprise.
Black Marsh is sometimes referred to as Argonia, depending on who is asked.
Black Marsh and Elsweyr are home to beast-folk races (Argonians and Khajiit respectively) andthat has led to both regions having extremely alien cultures that would be tough for mainstream audiences to get into.
Kuhlmann mentions this when talking about a potentialElder Scrolls 7and how Microsoft’s involvement could change it. Both these regions are inherently more strange compared to areas with a human population. This probably points to Bethesda’s mindset and how it is looking at using the provinces in Tamriel as human populations, despite the rich variety of the many regions.
With Skyrim and Cyrodiil off the table due to hostES5andES4respectively, Hammerfell and potentially High Rock seem like the obvious choices. The last time either place was visited in a mainline games (notESO) was back in the 90s withDaggerfall.
Daggerfalltook place in the Iliac Bay,a region that involved South High Rock and North Hammerfell, and this region could be used again, considering thatThe Elder Scrolls 6’s teaser trailersort of looks like the Iliac Bay.
It should be noted that the trailer isn’t the best reference to use, considering that every country in Tamriel has mountains and a coastline. Still, with both regions having human populations, and with Hammerfell being the larger country, its use forThe Elder Scrolls 6seems even more obvious.
Why Hammerfell Is Likely The Setting Of The Elder Scrolls 6
And Why The Community Is So Convinced By It
Hammerfell is the logical location for the nextElder Scrollsgame. Its North African and Middle Eastern influences will make it vastly different from the Ancient Norse inspirations behindSkyrim.
Bethesda would be trading snow and forests for sand and jungles, but the area has enough familiar elements for a mainstream audience. With Microsoft owning Bethesda, it makes sense for the studio to play it more safely.
The Redguards came to Hammerfell from the now sunken continent of Yokuda, and conquered the country for themselves.
Hammerfell’s human population makes it less alien than Black Marsh and Elsweyr, butit’s also different enough fromSkyrimandOblivion’s Cyrodiil to separate it. There was also aPinterest board leak from a Bethesda employeepointing to Hammerfell as the location.
With Hammerfell being so close to High Rock, the much smaller country could be used for expansions too, similar to what was done forDragonborn,adding Solsthiem toSkyrim. Many have even tried to go toHammerfell inOblivion Remastered, and this has long been the speculated location for years.
The Iliac Bay already has a rich history, in part thanks toDaggerfalland the first Akaviri Invasionbeginning in the region. It could even be an excuse to add ships and sailing mechanics, given all the islands in the Iliac Bay, and Hammerfell’s structure makes it perfect for anElder Scrollsgame.
A lot is known about the area, and it being split up into nine kingdoms can help it have a similar system to the provinces ofSkyrim. IfThe Elder Scrolls 6uses a similar naming convention toDaggerfall(i.e being named after one of the major cities in the country),ES6could already have an obvious name too.
The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinelseems like a good choice, and with so much lore to use for Hammerfell, compared to Black Marsh especially, it just seems like what Bethesda will choose.
Bethesda Could Go More Alien For ES7
There Might Not Be Any Human provinces Left
If both Hammerfell and High Rock are used forES6,ES7won’t have any human provinces left to turn to, and might need to enlist the elves.
Elves aren’t quite as odd as beast-folk to the average person, and both The Summerset Isles and Valenwood have plenty of lore written about them, although the Bosmer of Valenwood are an odd bunch. The Bosmer being cannibals is, ironically, something that might be difficult for the average gamer, and Microsoft, to swallow.
The Summerset Isles could then be the perfect choice,being called something likeThe Elder Scrolls 7: Dominion, although that’s getting too far ahead. Gameplay forThe Elder Scrolls 6hasn’t even been shown yet, despiterecentES6rumorsimplying one could be in the works. Thinking aboutES7too much right now seems like a useless exercise, especially since World War 3 and the Rapture seem more likely to come first.
Still, it feels like 2025 should be the year for Bethesda to show something off regardingThe Elder Scrolls 6. Even something as small as a name and location reveal would be a nice start, although a bit of gameplay should be expected at the very least. It has been a long, long wait, and if Bethesda doesn’t show something soon, the modding community might beat the studio to it and recreate Hammerfell inSkyrim.
