Bethesda Game Studios has seen immense success with the delivery of the Fallout television show. It has won awards, pulled millions of eyes to the Fallout universe, and opened the door to collaborations across the ecosystem. But would that success roll over into The Elder Scrolls if that franchise were to be adapted into a live-action production?
According to Bruce Nesmith, former design lead on The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim, and a quest writer on Fallout 3 (amongst other things), a live-action adaptation of The Elder Scrolls probably wouldn’t work.
Could The Elder Scrolls Get a Television Show?
Nesmith worked at Bethesda Game Studios for several years, leaving in 2021 to chase new horizons. But before he departed, he offered key contributions to some of the company’s most ambitious projects, including 2011’s Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim. It’s widely considered one of the best games ever made, and he played a pivotal part in bringing it to life.
In a recent interview with Press Box PR, Nesmith spoke at length about Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and the world around him and what he has created – and continues to create.
One segment turned to talking about the Fallout TV show and the success it has seen since debuting in April 2024.
The interviewer asked Nesmith if he could see The Elder Scrolls receiving the live-action treatment, but the former Bethesda Game Studios developer was sceptical and pretty on the money with his opinion:
Do they really need marketing for Elder Scrolls 6?
There’s something very special and different and unique about Fallout that lends itself to becoming a TV or movie experience whereas The Elder Scrolls is trying to be a standard kind of fantasy. That’s not as interesting.
You look at Fallout, everything is special about it. There is nothing like the Fallout universe anywhere else in gaming.
That makes it easy to make a TV show and draw eyeballs as opposed to going into a fantasy world where I’ve got elves and people throwing spells around. You’d have to raise those stakes. There’s a dragon? I’ve seen dragons 20 times before. What are you giving to viewers that’s new?
I don’t know that The Elder Scrolls would fit that media well. Maybe a movie but I would struggle to see a TV show.
It’s a good point. Nesmith pointed to brands like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, which could be seen as very Elder Scrolls-coded. There are plenty of television shows and movies with fantasy themes, even adaptations like The Witcher walk a close line to the Bethesda-backed brand, for instance.
It’s highly unlikely Bethesda Game Studios will turn anything other than Fallout into a show, especially as the series could run for up to a decade, all being well.
Now, if we could just start talking about making Fallout 5 a reality…
Do you think you’d watch an Elder Scrolls TV show? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Helldivers 2 might have sold 20 million copies
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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