Howard confirmed in 2016 that ES6 was going to be made.
The E3 announcement trailer was in 2018.
The same year they said it wouldn’t start until after Starfield
In 2021 Howard said it was in design phase
2023 they said it entered active development
2024 they stated early builds were playable
2025/Today they said it’s the main production focus
10 years between Todd saying it was going to be made and finally being the main production focus. So had they not put their weight behind Starfield its likely ES6 would have already been out or getting very close to release.
The underlying issue here is how Bethesda allocates resources between its titles. They should have created studios entirely for Fallout and one for TES and MAYBE a 3rd for side projects like ESO, F76, and Starfield. Ultimately this is a mix between Phil Spencer and Todd Howards fault. Phil should have stepped in and made the executive decision to branch the studio and Todd should never have allowed the mainline games to become secondary to side projects.
Well let’s look at its timeline
Howard confirmed in 2016 that ES6 was going to be made.
The E3 announcement trailer was in 2018.
The same year they said it wouldn’t start until after Starfield
In 2021 Howard said it was in design phase
2023 they said it entered active development
2024 they stated early builds were playable
2025/Today they said it’s the main production focus
10 years between Todd saying it was going to be made and finally being the main production focus. So had they not put their weight behind Starfield its likely ES6 would have already been out or getting very close to release.
The underlying issue here is how Bethesda allocates resources between its titles. They should have created studios entirely for Fallout and one for TES and MAYBE a 3rd for side projects like ESO, F76, and Starfield. Ultimately this is a mix between Phil Spencer and Todd Howards fault. Phil should have stepped in and made the executive decision to branch the studio and Todd should never have allowed the mainline games to become secondary to side projects.