Phil Spencer strongly hints 'Elder Scrolls VI' will be an Xbox and PC exclusive

Xbox chief Phil Spencer has given the strongest hint yet that Elder Scrolls VI won't be coming to PlayStation. Since Microsoft bought Bethesda Softworks owner ZeniMax Media earlier this year, questions have been swirling around platform exclusivity for ongoing franchises, such as Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout.

Spencer previously noted exclusivity would be decided on a "case-by-case basis." He later said Microsoft would "continue to invest in communities of players" and that "there might be things that have either contractual things or legacy on different platforms that we'll go do." Still, he was adamant that the ZeniMax/Bethesda deal was largely about "delivering great exclusive games."

Now, in an interview with GQ to mark the 20th anniversary of Xbox, Spencer strongly hinted that, like next year's Starfield, Elder Scrolls VI will be locked to Xbox consoles, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming. “It’s not about punishing any other platform, like I fundamentally believe all of the platforms can continue to grow,” he said. “But in order to be on Xbox, I want us to be able to bring the full complete package of what we have. And that would be true when I think about Elder Scrolls VI. That would be true when I think about any of our franchises.”

That won't exactly inspire confidence among, say, Skyrim fans that they'll get to play Elder Scrolls VI on PlayStation and Switch. In any case, with Bethesda's focus on Starfield, it might be a while before it divulges more details about the next Elder Scrolls game.