Before he left Bethesda, Skyrim's co-lead wanted a cliffhanger ending for The Elder Scrolls 6, but now he knows that's "completely unfeasible" for a series that's already gone 15 years between entries

2026 will mark Skyrim’s 15th anniversary, and we still don’t know what shape The Elder Scrolls 6 is ultimately going to take. But Kurt Kuhlmann, co-lead designer on Skyrim, had some grand ideas for the next entry before he left Bethesda in 2023 – including a cliffhanger ending that would’ve set the stage for The Elder Scrolls 7.

Kuhlmann is a multi-decade veteran of Bethesda going back to the Daggerfall days, and his long history with the series gave him a reputation as the “loremaster” of The Elder Scrolls, according to an interview with our friends at PC Gamer. He ultimately left the studio after it became clear he wouldn’t get a chance to lead the next Elder Scrolls game, but not before developing some ideas for TES6’s story.