Bethesda Game Studios used its 40th anniversary video to finally name the next Elder Scrolls: The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel. It's set in Hammerfell, it's still in development, and that's all we're getting for now.
The wait for a name is over. Bethesda Game Studios confirmed this morning, Tuesday, November 3, that the next Elder Scrolls game is officially The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel. The reveal went out around 10:09 AM ET on X and Xbox Wire, as part of the studio’s celebration of 40 years of Bethesda Game Studios.
What you need to know
- The name: The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel.
- Where it’s set: Hammerfell, the desert province of the Redguards. Bethesda says today’s reveal covers both “the name and location,” and The Verge confirms the setting is Hammerfell, a province fans have seen before in The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard and The Elder Scrolls Online.
- Who announced it: Studio chief Todd Howard, who called this the “perfect time” to name the game, per The Verge.
- How it was revealed: Inside a video of less than 10 minutes celebrating Bethesda Game Studios’ 40 years, according to The Verge.
- What we did not get: No trailer, no gameplay, no release date, no release window. Bethesda says “it’ll be some time before we’re ready to share more.”
- Status: “Development continues,” per Bethesda.
What Bethesda said
Bethesda Game Studios followed up the reveal with a short message to fans:
“Thank you for 40 years of shared memories. We can’t wait to make even more together with The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel. Development continues, and while it’ll be some time before we’re ready to share more, it feels great to finally reveal the name and location with you.”
The original reveal post teased fans with “did you guess correctly?” And plenty of people did.
The 40th anniversary video
The name drop came alongside a look back at the studio’s history. Bethesda posted it as “A look back at our legacy over the last 40 years and the journey ahead,” and Xbox Wire published a companion post, “Celebrating 40 Years of Bethesda Game Studios.”
We called it
Last week, on October 29, we reported Tom Warren’s scoop from The Verge’s Notepad newsletter that the game would be called The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel, that it would be set in Hammerfell, and that the name would drop in November with nothing else attached. Every one of those points just landed. Warren himself put it simply today: “Like I reported last week, it’s just a name reveal.”
Warren’s earlier reporting also said Sentinel “will be the first game about the history of the Elder Scrolls,” digging into the ancient artifacts the series is named after, and that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma got a live playthrough in August. Bethesda has not confirmed those story details itself yet. (Read our original report: The Elder Scrolls VI Is Called Sentinel, Set in Hammerfell.)
How we got here
- June 2018: Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls VI at E3 with a short teaser of a coastline. That was more than eight years ago.
- Since then: Almost nothing official. Fans spent years arguing Hammerfell vs. High Rock based on that teaser.
- November 2026: The name lands in the same month Skyrim turns 15. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launched November 11, 2011.
What’s still unknown
- Release date or window
- Platforms
- A trailer or any gameplay footage
- Whether the story details from The Verge’s report hold up
OnPoint’s take: Eight years. Eight years of a 30-second coastline teaser and people zooming into rocks to guess the province. Now it has a name, it has a home, and Bethesda is saying it out loud: Sentinel, Hammerfell. The Hammerfell crowd won, and honestly, it’s the right call. Sand, sea, Redguard sword culture and a city called Sentinel that a whole game is named after. That’s a totally different look from Skyrim’s snow, and that’s what a sequel this big needs.
Here’s what people aren’t seeing: Bethesda doesn’t name a game unless it’s confident in it. Locking a subtitle in public is a commitment. Pair that with Tom Warren’s report that Asha Sharma already played it live and walked away hyped on the story, and this is a studio that knows what it has. The “development continues” line isn’t a red flag. It’s Bethesda finally being upfront instead of letting fans guess.
The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel in Hammerfell. How are you feeling?
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And OnPoint readers knew first. When the scoop dropped last week, we put it all on the page: the name, Hammerfell, the November timing, and that it would just be a name. Every bit of it hit.
Now the ask. A name is great, but Xbox fans have been patient long enough. Skyrim turns 15 next week and The Game Awards is right around the corner. Give us a trailer, Todd. Let’s go.
Image: Bethesda
Sources
- Xbox Wire: The Elder Scrolls VI: Official Name Reveal (Joe Skrebels, Nov 3, 2026)
- Xbox Wire: Celebrating 40 Years of Bethesda Game Studios
- Bethesda Game Studios on X: name reveal, follow-up message, 40th anniversary video
- The Verge: The Elder Scrolls VI officially has a name: Sentinel (Tom Warren, Nov 3, 2026)
- Tom Warren on X: reaction post
- OnPoint 4 Gamers: our Oct 29 report, RUMOR: The Elder Scrolls VI Is Called Sentinel, Set in Hammerfell, Name Reveal Could Come Next Month
