Todd Howard has confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 is being built on Creation Engine 3, an evolution of the same core technology that powered Bethesda's classics including 2002's Morrowind, 2006's Oblivion and 2011's Skyrim.

The remark came during an interview with Kinda Funny and was reported by Push Square, with Howard stressing that the game uses the same fundamental tech rather than a completely new engine. The comment ends months of speculation about whether Bethesda had abandoned its long-serving engine for an entirely new architecture.

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Bethesda has steadily iterated on its in-house technology over the years. The original Creation Engine, itself a major rebuild of the older Gamebryo-based systems, was updated significantly for Starfield as Creation Engine 2. The newly confirmed Creation Engine 3 represents the next stage in that lineage for The Elder Scrolls franchise.

The confirmation suggests Bethesda's approach remains evolutionary, prioritising continued refinement of existing systems and toolchains instead of a wholesale switch to unfamiliar tech. That strategy carries benefits for developers already experienced with Bethesda's pipelines, while also setting expectations for the kinds of improvements and compromises the public can anticipate.

Specifics about what Creation Engine 3 brings to The Elder Scrolls 6 have not been detailed beyond Howard's remarks, and no release window for the game has been announced. The full Kinda Funny interview and Push Square's coverage provide the source material for the studio's comments.

Source: Push Square (reporting on Kinda Funny interview with Todd Howard)