A couple of days ago it was reported that Bethesda may actually have a new unannounced title in the works that is set to be released at some point in 2017. This news came after Bethesda executive, Pete Hines, suggested as much in an interview with Tek Syndicate at #PAX2017.
There has been quite a bit of confusion over the matter, with Hines first supposedly retracting his initial statement and then later reinstating it by affirming that there is still another Bethesda title to be released this year
The news that Bethesda may have another title due to be released in 2017 came as a surprise to a lot of gamers as the publisher has already planned to release Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, The Evil Within 2, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Quake Champions and #Skyrim, #Fallout4 and #Doom #VR ports throughout the remainder of the year.
Gamers have been sharing their thoughts about what this game may actually be and I thought it may be interesting to list some of the more popular suggestions and discuss the probability of each being announced, so here goes.
The Elder Scrolls VI
It has been six years since the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimand many feel that Bethesda may be lining up to release another entry in the series, particularly as the release period between previous games were about five to six years in length.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. (Credit: Bethesda)
Skyrim proved to be highly popular with fans, with Bethesda famously re-releasing the title for different platforms several times. At this point, you can play Skyrim on PC, Xbox 360, #XboxOne, PlayStation 3 (you probably shouldn’t though), #PlayStation4 and soon on the #NintendoSwitch.
With Skyrim VR coming out later this year and Hines suggesting that a new entry into the series is a long way off, it is highly doubtful that the unannounced title will be #TheElderScrollsVI, but who knows?
New IP
It was suggested that the reason it may take Bethesda some time to release The Elder Scrolls VI (which has been stated to already be in development) is that they are currently focused on developing a new #IP.
Everybody loves to see a new idea.
What exactly this new IP may be is something of even further speculation within the gaming community. There are two popular suggestions surrounding this idea.
Firstly, some have suggested that the title may be a sci-fi open-world procedurally generated game called Starfield that will be rather similar to Bethesda’s highly popular post-apocalyptic open-world series, #Fallout.
There were some rumours that Starfield was originally meant to be revealed at E3 earlier this year, but was then later removed from Bethesda’s conference schedule for unknown reasons.
Although Bethesda has trademarked the name Starfield and has previously stated that they have been working on three massive titles for some time, it is important to take any unconfirmed rumours with a grain of salt.
Secondly, some believe that the unannounced title will be a new mobile game which has been stated to be in development and will supposedly follow in the “successful footsteps of Fallout Shelter.”
This may mean that a new mobile game is being made in conjunction with another game with a larger scope, but again this remains to be seen.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends. (Credit: Bethesda)
Bethesda already released #TheElderScrollsLegends, a mobile card game based on the lore of the series, earlier this year. It may be debatable that they would want to release another mobile game so soon, but it is not entirely impossible.
The Previously Denied Game of Thrones Title
A few weeks ago, a Target listing for a #GameofThrones title developed by Bethesda was discovered and got many people excited about the possibility of such a game being made. Unfortunately, the page proved to be a fake and Bethesda denied that they had been working on any such title.
Game of Thrones. (Credit: HBO)
Some believe that Bethesda only denied working on the title in an attempt to prevent any further information being leaked.
While publishers have previously lied about the authenticity of leaked information regarding an upcoming title, this is not always the case – particularly, when one takes in consideration how easy it is to create a fake Target listing.
As previously stated, Bethesda has three “large” titles currently in development; it could be that one of them is based on Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. The theory, however, remains highly unlikely.
Game of Thrones: A Telltale Series. (Credit: Telltale Games)
Personally, I feel that any developer making a title based on Game of Thrones would want to capitalise on the series’ large and loyal fandomby creating a hype train so massive even Hello Games would be proud.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for PlayStation Vita
Bethesda will soon be releasing Skyrim for microwaves, treadmills, exercise bikes, iOS, Android and even rocks sometime in the near future because when the fans love something, it is important to make sure that they always have easy access to it.
Jokes aside, I do think the Nintendo Switch version and VR port will be the last time that we see Skyrim on another device.
PS Vita. (Credit: Sony)
I’ll honestly be very surprised if this new unannounced title is a port of Skyrim to a handheld console that is already six years old itself and supposedly did not sell very well, but stranger things have happened.
What’s The Most Likely Option?
Personally, I think that a #mobile title is probably the most likely scenario for this unannounced 2017 title because I do believe that we would have heard something about it by now if it was a larger game.
It is important to note that everything stated in this piece has been speculation. Bethesda may not even have an unannounced title in the works to be released this year as Hines has not been very clear with whether his initial statement was true or not.
Regardless of whether Bethesda does release another game this year, it is always exciting to know that they are working on something.
So, what are your theories on Bethesda’s unannounced 2017 game? Please share in the comments down below.
(Sources: Gamespot; IGN; AndroidHeadlines)
