The Elder Scrolls VI Is Reportedly Called Sentinel, Which Is a Start

The Elder Scrolls VI might finally have a full name. According to a new report from The Verge's Tom Warren, Bethesda's next Elder Scrolls game is called The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel, and Xbox could make it official as soon as November (Gematsu).

That timing lines up with a significant anniversary. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim turns 15 on November 11, and the report says the name could be revealed around then (VGC). Bethesda hasn't commented, so treat the name as a report for now.

Where does the name Sentinel come from?

Sentinel is a city and region in Hammerfell, the desert province that's home to the Redguards. The report says the game is set in Hammerfell, which matches years of fan theories (VGC). The province showed up in The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, the 1998 spinoff Redguard and The Elder Scrolls Online.

The name also fits a tease from earlier this year. In August, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said she had watched a live playthrough and praised its "scale and grandeur." She also teased the subtitle with eight asterisks, and Sentinel has exactly eight letters (Gematsu) (the internet counted, obviously).

How long have fans been waiting?

It's been a very long time. Bethesda originally revealed The Elder Scrolls VI with a short teaser at E3 2018, and it showed little more than a rocky coastline and a logo. Since then, Bethesda shipped Starfield, and Skyrim kept getting released on new platforms (it's on almost everything at this point).

According to the report, the setting may not be revealed at the same time as the title (VGC). There's still no official release date, and Xbox hasn't confirmed which platforms the game is eventually coming to.

What could Sentinel mean for gameplay?

Former Bethesda designer Bruce Nesmith, who was lead designer on Skyrim, said last month that he hopes the Iliac Bay theory is true. The bay sits between High Rock and Hammerfell, and he said setting the game there would set it up for "a big expansion into seafaring stuff," with boats and water exploration (VGC).

That's still speculation from a former developer, and Bethesda hasn't promised anything. Even so, a coastal setting would give the series a completely different feel from the snowy mountains of Skyrim.

My read is that a name tied to a real place in the lore is a good sign, since Morrowind and Skyrim were both named after provinces too. If the reveal really lands on Skyrim's 15th birthday, November 11 just became a very big day for Elder Scrolls fans.

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Images are official screenshots from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition on Steam, from Bethesda Softworks.