Bethesda releasedThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimnine years ago, on June 05, 2025. The open-world first-person RPG changed the face of roleplaying games, and ushered in some huge changes across many franchises in the genre for both better and worse. It helped create an almost unrivaled modding community which keeps the game feeling fresh to this day, and made the studio that created it a household name even among casual gamers with little former investment in RPGs or fantasy.
AsSkyrimapproaches its 10-year anniversary, and as gaming enters into yet another new generation of consoles with the Xbox Series X and PS5,Skyrim’s legacy may finally be coming to an end. The new consoles will see the release of some hugely anticipated RPGs, as well as some major changes coming to Bethesda as well.Skyrim’s direct influence on the RPG market may finally be coming to an end, but that could very well be a good thing which could allow both Bethesda and the RPG genre to turn in some interesting new directions.
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Skyrim’s Afterlife
Skyrim’s legacy is immense and has had a huge influence on what RPG developers have prioritized since its release, as well as Bethesda’s priorities since 2011. For a start, Bethesda has re-releasedSkyrimso many times on so many different platforms that the studio even acknowledged it in the release of a parody choose-your-own-adventureAmazon Echo port ofSkyrim. Bethesda has developed two major games since then, both still using theSkyrimengine:Fallout 4andFallout 76.
WhileFallout 4was generally well-received, for many fans it was still unable to step out ofSkyrim’s shadow. The lastElder Scrollsgame presented players with a huge amount of freedom – albeit at the cost of character-driven storytelling – and an immense world to explore. Therelease ofFallout 76led many observers to note a decline in Bethesda’s ability to live up to fan expectations afterSkyrim, and with next to no news released aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6since its announcement in 2018, it remains unclear if a sequel will ever be able to live up to the hype.
Not only that, butSkyrimhad a noticeable impact on some other major RPG franchises as well. The release ofSkyrimin 2011 saw franchises likeDragon AgeandThe Witcherinclude open worlds in their fantasy RPGs as well withDragon Age: InquisitionandThe Witcher 3respectively. For a time, the size of an RPG developer’s open world was a huge point of interest for fantasy RPGs.
Skyrimsold 20 million copiesbetween 2011 and 2014, a record which few of the RPGs that went on to emulate its open world could boast. It holds a 9/10 on Steam and has continued to sell well at $39.99 despite being almost a decade old. Although it was released in 2011, it’s difficult to point to any RPG released over the course of the following decade which had nearly the same impact or longevity.
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Bethesda’s Future
For the first time in 25 years Bethesda is developing a new IP,Starfield. Starfield will be a space-set RPG, though few other details have been released and Bethesda has told fans not to expect anyStarfieldnews until 2021. The game has been confirmed to be scheduled for release beforeThe Elder Scrolls 6, however, and the fact that Bethesda is finally embarking on a new IP is telling.
The huge legacy ofSkyrimis likely one factor behind the studio’s decision to diverge from its two major franchises and to try and create an RPG which is distinct in both its setting and mechanics from theElder ScrollsorFalloutgames. While it’s far too early to tell ifStarfieldwill be a success, Bethesda’s new willingness to experiment is good for fans who are hoping to experience new worlds and stories in the coming decade, and to see RPGs experiment with things like survival and space-travel mechanics as theStarfieldleaked imagesseem to suggest.
It is unclear what role Bethesda will have to play on the upcoming console generation. The studio’s recent purchase as part ofMicrosoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Mediacould have significant effects, with Bethesda developers not ruling out the possibility that some of its future games will be exclusives or timed exclusives for the new Xbox.
The RPG Genre’s Future
The biggest game with the greatest number of similarities toSkyrimthat’s coming out soon is very likelyCyberpunk 2077, despite its delay. As a first-person open-world RPG,Cyberpunk 2077could either take the first-person open-world genre into new territory which sets a brand-new standard for the genre and the stories it can tell. Alternatively, ifCyberpunkcannot live up to the hype it may spell the end of first-person RPGs as fans know them, which could also lead to greater experimentation and diversity within the genre in the future.
It’s also apparent that some developers, like Obsidian Entertainment with its upcoming first-person open-worldfantasy RPGAvowed, are likely still marketing their games by inviting comparison toSkyrimas the first-person sword and sorcery shot in theAvowedannouncement trailer did. LikeCyberpunk,Avowed’s success could see it set a new standard for the genre which helps move it beyondSkyrim’s legacy. This will likely depend on whether or notAvowedincludes a far more dynamic game-world, a more in-depth story, and more fleshed out characters thatThe Elder Scrolls 5. If it doesn’t, its failure could also inspire different types of RPGs to develop in response.
Between the competition faced from other developers, the Microsoft acquisition, and the changes happeningbehind-the-scenes at Bethesda, it’s unlikely fantasy fans will ever see a game quite likeSkyrimagain. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, and the demand for something that feels just as new and exciting asSkyrimdid in 2011 could help drive the RPG genre to even more interesting places than it has explored over the last nine years.
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