Say what you want about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and how Bethesda has ported to pretty much everything imaginable, the game continues to sell well and many people still play it regularly to this day. That longevity is something Bethesda is looking to bring to its sequel, The Elder Scrolls VI.

Bethesda director and executive producer Todd Howard recently talked up the game, noting it’s a game they “need to design for people to play for a decade, at least.”

When asked by IGN on why there will probably be a decade wait from Skyrim and Elder Scrolls VI, Howard teased – “It’s not that we’re not feeding high-quality Elder Scrolls to people.”

He added, “They want a certain type of experience that is very, um, it’s what we’ve done. You can pick up this water bottle, you can do X, Y, and Z. Things that we love. The gap in between is obviously going to be long, it already is.”

Howard continued, “On one hand, I think it’s good to miss things. I think that makes people come to it with really fresh eyes. And I think when they eventually see the game and what we have in mind, they’ll understand the gap more in terms of technology and what we want it to do.”

Howard noted that the gap between releases means “people are still playing Skyrim, it’s still one of the best-selling games. I know people joke about it online, but it’s one of the best-selling games on Switch. Anything we put it out on, it becomes a hit game. And they love it, they still play it, it’s almost infinitely playable, all of the mods and everything like that.”

Lastly, the Elder Scrolls boss noted “we’re 8 years post-Skyrim. It lets us know going into Elder Scrolls 6 that this is a game we need to design for people to play for a decade, at least.”

Are you still playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim? Or are you just waiting for The Elder Scrolls VI? Sound off in the comments below!