5 Best Video Games To Play While Waiting For The Elder Scrolls VI

August 7, 2026 - 08:54

Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series has a way of swallowing hundreds of hours, thanks to its sprawling maps, deep lore, and the simple joy of picking a direction and walking. With no release date for the next chapter in sight, you need something that scratches that same itch. These five titles come close, each offering a different slice of what makes Tamriel so memorable.

First, there's Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. It trades magic for gritty realism, but the first-person medieval exploration, skill progression, and a world that reacts to your choices feel very familiar. It is slower and more punishing, but the payoff is a sense of place that rivals Skyrim.

For a more fantastical take, Dragon's Dogma 2 nails the thrill of stumbling into a cave and fighting a griffin. The pawn system is a unique twist on companions, and the combat is far more dynamic than swinging a sword in Bethesda's engine. It is chaotic, ambitious, and often surprising.

If you prefer a hand-crafted world over a sandbox, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains the gold standard for quest design. Every side mission feels like a short story, and the moral gray areas will stick with you. It is not first-person, but the sense of being a wanderer in a war-torn land is spot on.

For something older, Morrowind is still playable with mods, but if you want a modern take on that alien, strange world, try Outward. It is clunky and unforgiving, but it forces you to prepare for travel, read directions, and respect the wilderness. That feeling of being a nobody in a huge, indifferent land is pure Elder Scrolls.

Finally, Enderal is a total conversion mod for Skyrim that is free on Steam if you own the base game. It uses the same bones but tells a far more personal, story-driven tale with a new land to explore. It is the closest you will get to a new Bethesda game without waiting for the real thing. Each of these will eat up dozens of hours, and by the time you finish, maybe there will be some actual news.