The Elder Scrolls Is Officially Switching Genre November 2026

Published Sep 27, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. 

In recent years, The Elder Scrolls fans have had a hard time thinking about anything else other than The Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda first announced the long-awaited Skyrim successor at E3 2018 with little more than a sweeping landscape and logo teaser video, and eight years later, the studio still has not shown the game publicly in any meaningful capacity.

Bethesda said in late 2025 that most of the studio was working on the sequel, while Xbox content chief Matt Booty offered another rare update in June 2026, saying he had seen the game running, that it looked "amazing," and that development was progressing well.

That optimism has come amid significant upheaval across Xbox and Bethesda, including major layoffs and restructuring this summer, although Bethesda subsequently maintained that its roadmap for The Elder Scrolls 6 had not changed. While the wait for a proper reveal continues, however, The Elder Scrolls is about to make a major shift away from its familiar video game format this November, giving fans an entirely different way to explore Tamriel while they wait for TES6 news.

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The Elder Scrolls is officially switching genres this November with The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era, a cooperative tabletop RPG from Chip Theory Games. Rather than controlling a character through one of Bethesda's sprawling video game worlds, one to four players will explore Tamriel across the tabletop, building their characters, completing quests, delving into dungeons, and fighting enemies through dice rolls and tactical encounters. Zatu currently lists the base game for preorder at roughly $209, with several expansions available as well.

Importantly, Betrayal of the Second Era still attempts to preserve much of what makes an Elder Scrolls RPG beloved. Set during Tamriel's Second Era and the events surrounding the Planemeld, its campaign has players investigating a new threat connected to the Order of the Black Worm. Adventures still feature "exploration" and character progression alongside hex-based dungeon combat, while players develop skills, acquire equipment, and shape their hero over multiple sessions.

Instead of another enormous single-player video game, fans are getting a physical RPG experience built around cooperative play and tactical decision-making. Retailers currently point to a November 2026 launch, with additional expansions including Elsweyr, Summerset, and Heroes of Tamriel also planned around the release.

For Elder Scrolls fans tired of waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6, Betrayal of the Second Era could arrive at exactly the right time. Bethesda's next mainline RPG is still without a release date, and with no full gameplay reveal yet, there is every reason to expect the wait will continue well beyond 2026. In the meantime, Betrayal of the Second Era offers something more substantial than a simple franchise tie-in, recreating many of the systems fans associate with the video games in a format designed to support repeated play.

Its campaign structure, character progression, equipment, quests, exploration, and tactical combat should give players plenty to dig into across multiple sessions, particularly for groups interested in experimenting with different builds and approaches. The expansions also broaden that experience further, adding more regions and content beyond the base game.

Most importantly, it gives fans another reason to spend time in Tamriel without simply replaying Skyrim for the hundredth time. It obviously will not replace the scale or freedom expected from The Elder Scrolls 6, but as a new RPG experience set in the same universe, it could be one of the best ways to make the long wait feel a little shorter.