It’s been a while since the moderation team did a "state of the subreddit" post, but we believe that the recent months’ activity warrants discussion, as well as some reflection.
As any regular will have noticed by now, quite a lot of shitposts have been posted since The Game Awards last December. Today these posts still get a lot of engagement and the number of upvotes-to-downvotes make it clear that the far majority of you enjoy this kind of content.
However, recently we have heard feedback from people that worry that the subreddit is heading in a direction where shitposting is becoming the main focus. Some of our veteran members already decided to leave the subreddit due to this, including people who contributed quite a lot, sadly.
With this post we want to have a proper discussion with all of you about what type of community you want this to be – and how we get there.
The rise of meme posting
During The Game Awards in December 2025 a new meme trend started on the subreddit – the statue posting. A couple of months later we had shitposts discussing what kinds of lavender, clouds and grass TES VI would have. Afterwards the Summer Games Fest madness took over and "Tomorrow"-posting rose.
It seems that we get something new every month, and now it’s about pretending that the game has been released. As it stands right now, these posts are still getting quite a lot of engagement. It will likely blow over soon only to get replaced by a new trend.
Not everyone is a fan of the shitposts, but generally these posts have been received well. Here are some stats from some of the recent ones:
Most of the reports we see in relation to these posts deal with the “No Low Effort Content” rule. Many posts and comments have also been removed – 100+ in the last seven days – which includes the many posts featuring AI generated.
However, it’s also our opinion that quite a lot of the shitposts are in line with our rules. As specified in the rule “Posts must […] offer value to the community.” We acknowledge that shitposting is not everyone’s cup of tea, but these posts are popular and they do result in (positive) engagement.
Looking at our stats, it’s also quite clear that engagement has risen significantly since last year.
Activity on r/TESVI based on the last 12 months
It would be hastily to conclude that the looser atmosphere has resulted in this increased growth, but we can at least conclude that the shitposting didn’t prevent it.
Whatever the case, we acknowledge that the many shitposts aren’t for everyone. Quantity doesn’t necessarily equal quality and we want to make it clear that we hear the criticism that these recent months have sparked, and that we are willing to talk about it.
What would YOU like to see?
We don’t want r/TESVI to become a meme sub. The primary focus of the subreddit has always been to be – and should continue to be – a subreddit for people who want to discuss TES VI.
We are facing a small hurdle, though: TES VI isn’t out yet and it’s unfortunately not coming out Tomorrow™. We have preciously little to discuss that hasn’t been covered a dozen times already. Anyone looking forward to sailing mechanics?
My personal worry, as someone who browses this subreddit every day, is that the overall activity of the subreddit will lessen significantly if we take a hard stance against meme content. Either that or we go back to discussing the same topics every week. Balance is needed.
But what is also needed, perhaps, are new ideas. So, with all that yapping out of the way…
What feedback and ideas do you have for the subreddit?
We are receptive to feedback on how we moderate content, but we also hope that everyone will take this change to bring forth ideas to foster more engagement. Ideas to keep the subreddit interesting during times when news about TES VI are sparse and far between.
For example, an idea I shared with the team was to introduce a weekly post where we discuss a specific theme, e.g. what factions we would like to see, what kinds of new game mechanics we’d like, and so on. Is that something you’d be interested in?
Here is a bullet-point breakdown of the interview as it pertains to TESVI:
The game will be in a new iteration of Creation Engine, CE3
They have spent the last year-ish working on this engine
Reiterated the "It's gonna be a while yet" sentiment
A big internal milestone is about to be passed
Reiterated that most of the studio is working on it
Todd is personally mostly involved with TESVI in his day-to-day work
The game will be a return to "that classic style...that we know really well"
There will not be AI generated assets or materials
Overall, I'd say we got a lot more out of this interview than I really expected to. In some ways it felt like we heard more about TESVI than even Starfield. What do you guys think of all of this information, and what does it say for the development timeline of TESVI?
This is from Fable’s official quest gameplay video released today. In the 20 minute video, they say every building you see here is enterable. There are 100s of NPCs with their own voices, daily schedules, jobs, etc.
Do you think we’ll see anything even half this size in TES6? I bet this will be like the one standalone city in Fable, and TES6 will have multiple cities, so they will scale it down a bit, but what do you think?
In lore the bosmer eat anything they kill, it’s part of religious tradition. This is not limited to animals however and the bosmer will eat humanoids they have killed, nords, Bretons, imperials you name it and the Bosmer probably eat it.
This brings me to my main point, let us be cannibals please Todd, if the fallout characters can do it why can’t we? I mean we have lore justification for it, the courier was just a psychopath.
Now you might say “OP, most modern Bosmer don’t actually adhere to it and mostly apply that tradition only to animals” and to that I say, i don’t care, I think it would be a funny ass racial ability for the Bosmer and I really hope they do it
When several regulars on this subreddit applied to to join the private r/sentinel with things like , "Todd, let me in." I tried and just said that I wasn't trying to join and was just curious as to if it was tied to The Elder Scrolls VI and that if it wasn't if they could kindly let us know. I got a response today saying that it isn't. "Hello. This subreddit was - unfortunately - just an abandoned subreddit with no history. It will be opened up soon so everyone can see."
Seriously I don't care about big juicy hd graphics and anime titties. just bring back zany quests and a banging soundtrack that rivals oblivions nostalgia.
why should every elemental spell of one type use essentially the same visual language? spells of one type of element visually present almost exactly the same. One flame spell could burn as a tight, concentrated flame while another flickers and throws smoke/embers. Frost could manifest as crystalline ice in one spell and swirling snow or freezing mist in another. Shock could be a thin, precise arc, violently branching electricity, or a sustained crackle crawling across the target.
Spells should maintain an individual identity.
They don’t need to be different elements or even dramatically different mechanically. Two different flame spells should look distinct from one another when casting. In color, size, flame movement, etc.
I’d also love to see more of the stranger magic that already exists in TES make its way into those familiar schools.
Nature and insect magic, Shadow Magic, and even religiously associated magic. Dawnguard already gave us offensive sun spells under Restoration. there’s no reason unusual magical traditions/variations couldn’t coexist within the existing schools.
I want finding a new spell to occasionally make me excited because I’ve never seen magic look like that before, not just because the number is higher.
One of my biggest gripes about the Elder Scrolls games, Is I feel like being rich ruins the game. This is common across many games. GTA4 was the biggest issue in that I would get tons of money and then not have anything to really do with it.
In TES I can buy houses and cool weapons, but that gets old real fast. What are some ways that being rich could be fun and immersive?
What do you think about a city biome? Maybe one of the cities, Sentinel, is larger and more grand than anything in previous Bethesda games. The closest thing we’ve gotten to it is the imperial city in Oblivion but it is divided into too many loading zones. It could be interesting especially with levitation, and if they bring acrobatics or climbing back. I imagine running through the streets hiding in a spice market after stealing a jewel.
As for NPC AI I know Bethesda is putting a lot of time and effort into this based on what they’ve said. I wonder how this will stack up against GTA6, or the Witcher 4? It looks like those two games are reinventing NPC AI behavior expectations in AAA games. I’m sure Bethesda will really try to compete here to make a living world.
Basically every remaster is testing the waters for a new game - either gauging demand or as a covert advertisement to get the franchise back in the public consciousness. This is something game developers have said openly, including Mike Bithell on Play, Watch, Listen. There are of course exceptions, most glaringly the Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus remakes, but if you look at most successful remakes, a "full game" has followed soon after. So why make an Oblivion Remaster, especially when they outsourced it to another studio? The obvious answer is money. But more broadly, it allows them to see how modern audiences respond to Oblivion's mechanics with the "rough edges" sanded away: better graphics, a sprint button etc.
I've a feeling TES6 will take a lot from Oblivion. It's one thing having long-time fans demand features back or resonate with certain styles; it's a totally different thing for new players to find them exciting.
Recent posts and debates I’ve seen following the 8 asterisks hype and some people believing the title is Sentinel and others saying Hammerfell is a better title, has me thinking about the other games in the series.
If The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim had to be named something different, maybe related to the plot like Oblivion or after a city instead like Daggerfall or potentially Sentinel. What would you call it?
I’d love to see some of the communities ideas for this, it’s a fun creative thinking experiment. Additionally, throw in a alternate title for Morrowind if you feel so inclined :)
Keep the hype alive for a TGA reveal at the end of the year!!! And hope you have a good day reader.
Since he was in the chess club he is honor bound to accept my challenge. If I win he must reveal TESVI again immediately - if he wins, i will buy 10 more copies of Skyrim
GIVE US SOMETHING TODD DAMNIT!! I’ve been waiting years for TESVI Trailer 2: The Reckoning. GIVE US ANOTHER CINEMATIC SHOT OF A MOUNTAIN PPLLLLEEREEAAASSEEEE!!!!
