The wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 has been long, and fans are eager for any sign of progress–and don’t expect any sort of announcement this holiday season. However, that excitement only grew when Bethesda released a live-action comedy trailer to celebrate Skyrim’s sudden launch on the Nintendo Switch 2. The trailer features a mischievous Santa and two elves, and at first glance, it seems like simple holiday fun. But the numbers shown on the elves’ character screen quickly caught the community’s attention.
The reason: One elf’s speech skill jumps to 27, while their overall level is shown moving toward 20. Some fans believe these numbers are a deliberate hint that The Elder Scrolls 6 is planned for 2027. Supporters of the theory argue that the numbers are too specific to be random, while others think people may be reading too much into a random number. Still, because Bethesda rarely shares direct updates about the game, even small details like this can spark big debates.
“This honestly might be the best piece of evidence we have for a release date,” one fan said. “Those are very specific numbers, and I don’t think they would use those numbers by accident.”
There’s good reason for both curiosity and caution. Bethesda leaders, including Todd Howard, have repeatedly said the game is still “a long way off,” even though it was first announced back in 2018. The studio has confirmed that early development began in 2023 and that playtesting is now underway, but no release window has been announced. Fans feel the long gap more sharply because Skyrim’s re-releases kept the series in the spotlight while the next main entry remained out of reach.
Howard has admitted the wait has been unusually long, though he says the team needed a creative break and wanted to build Starfield first. He’s also expressed interest in surprising fans with a sudden release, similar to the shadow-dropped Oblivion Remastered in 2025. Whether or not the numbers in the Switch 2 trailer actually point to 2027, anticipation for The Elder Scrolls 6 is only growing.
Bethesda might have its hands full going into 2026 with the Switch 2 port marred with lag issues and the Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition still awaiting a second bug-fix update slated to arrive this month as well.
