Summary
It has now been nearly 6 years since Bethesda made the announcement thatThe Elder Scrolls 6is in development, and almost nothing has been divulged about the game since then. Rumors have circulated aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6’s setting, as well as its gameplay, but nothing official has left Bethesda’s mouth yet. As such, there is plenty of room and time left for speculation, especially regarding one increasingly popular mechanic in RPGs.
AsThe Elder Scrollsrepeatedly offers players stories with only one ending, and in light of how popular multiple endings in a choice-driven RPG have become over the last decade, there remains a strong case forThe Elder Scrolls 6to have more than one ending. It wouldn’t be the first game in the series to do so, but it would break a cycle that has now gone on for almost three decades, along with going all in on one of the franchise’s traditional design principles.
Why The Elder Scrolls 6’s Story Should Have Multiple Endings
Multiple Endings Would Make the World Feel More Reactive to Player Choice
One of the mostdefining characteristics of anElder Scrollsgameis its emphasis on player choice. For decades,The Elder Scrollshas placed player freedom and reactive roleplaying at the forefront, but when it comes to the main story, every game but one has ultimately funneled players into one definitive ending. No matter what choices players make throughout anElder Scrollsgame, and no matter whether some side quests even have multiple outcomes, the end result of each main story is pretty much preordained.
AsThe Elder Scrollsrepeatedly offers players stories with only one ending, and in light of how popular multiple endings in a choice-driven RPG have become over the last decade, there remains a strong case forThe Elder Scrolls 6to have more than one ending.
Unfortunately, despite how much fun and immersive a design principle like this can be in anElder Scrollsgame, if the main story ends without taking the player’s choices up to that point into consideration, a lot of that agency can feel underutilized. IfThe Elder Scrolls 6were to have multiple endings, then, it would allow players to feel as though their choices really do matter in the grand scheme of things, rather than just for momentary events. This would take the series' emphasis on player agency to the next level, letting players actually have a hand in shaping the overarching narrative.
Daggerfall Proved That Multiple Endings Are Possible in an Elder Scrolls Game
The main challengeThe Elder Scrolls 6would face in having multiple endings is the issue of what is canon and what is not. In other words, at some point, Bethesda would need to choose which of the optional endings toThe Elder Scrolls 6would be considered canon for the series moving forward. However,Daggerfallproved thatmultiple endingsare still possible in anElder Scrollsgame, as Bethesda canonized each one simultaneously with the “Warp in the West,” an event where the laws of time and causality are temporarily suspended.
Daggerfallhad a total of six different possible endings, including the Empire gaining full control of the Iliac Bay and the King of Worms ascending to godhood.
Of course, it might be difficult to convince longtimeElder Scrollsfansthat something like the Warp in the West could happen again, as it might be seen as little more than an excuse forThe Elder Scrolls 6to have more than one ending. Even so, Bethesda could still come up with a different narrative explanation for whyThe Elder Scrolls 6has multiple endings when almost every other game in the series doesn’t, andDaggerfallhas proven that is entirely possible.
Bethesda has long balanced player freedom with overarching narrative structure, butThe Elder Scrolls 6has the opportunity to push that balance further than ever before. Multiple endings wouldn’t just be amodern RPGtrend, as it would be a natural evolution ofThe Elder Scrolls' core design philosophy. While the question of canon would need to be addressed,Daggerfallhas already shown that creative solutions exist where the willingness to challenge tradition is present. If Bethesda embraces that challenge,The Elder Scrolls 6could finally offer players more than just the illusion of choice in a story that truly reacts to their decisions in ways the series has rarely explored.
