Bethesda won't have a digital showcase this year, but it still has things to talk about

(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

Every year, Bethesda holds an E3 press conference (technically pre-E3, but that's hardly a distinction worth making anymore) where it talks about what sorts of things it will be getting up to in the coming year and beyond. Sometimes it's a relatively in-depth presentation of upcoming releases, and other times it's just some music and a title and everyone goes nuts.

With the cancellation of E3 this year because of the coronavirus outbreak, some developers and publishers are moving to online-only presentations for media and the public, and with gamers eager to hear more about Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, there was some hope that Bethesda might do one of its own.

Unfortunately, it will not: Bethesda's vice president of marketing Pete Hines said on Twitter today that the company has things to talk about, but it won't be doing it in an online showcase.

Both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 were announced two years ago, at E3 2018.  Virtually nothing has been said about either of them since, but Bethesda's chief software engineer Todd Howard said at the time that Starfield had been in "active development" for a couple of years at that point and was in a "playable" state, so hopes were high that this could be the year we'd finally get a proper look. Neither game currently has a public release target, although we know TES6 will come later: Bethesda's priority is Starfield, and work on the new Elder Scrolls won't kick into top gear until after Starfield comes out.  

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in RPG
Metaphor: ReFantazio character art
Metaphor: ReFantazio battle director says turn-based RPGs can still be just as popular as action RPGs: 'I personally believe turn-based games have a long future ahead of them'
Geralt sitting on a wall wearing a Cyberpunk jacket modded by TheRealArdCarraigh
The Witcher 3 devs had to practically remake the game engine to make official modding possible
Serana from Skyrim, modded to look like a desiccated corpse.
Skyrim realism mod fixes your vampire girlfriend, giving her a voice and look more suited to someone who just got out of a coffin after 2,000 years
Minthara BG3 looking upset
Another round of Baldur's Gate 3 unearthing reveals Minthara can end up living in a sewer, an unused beach ending, and more
Person battling bizarre four-eyed monster with stylish UI elements surrounding them
Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio's UI designer is open to accessibility options for players who find the stylish menus overstimulating: 'That is something we understand we'll need to work on and provide in the future'
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth money farm - Super Crazy Delivery
Like a Dragon series director sums up why sidequests are essential to a great RPG with a single metaphor: 'a good main dish alone will not earn you a Michelin star'
Latest in News
A True Kin knight stands in a ruin in Caves of Qud, flanked by bloodstained furniture and a freshly mortalized corpse.
Despite making a roguelike where you can have countless arms and legs, Caves of Qud's creators say the ideal form is a limbless sphere: 'We started in perfection and only moved farther from God'
Civilization 7 Great Britain - Modern Civ art (via YouTube)
As Civilization 7 struggles to keep up with Civ 5 player counts, a new patch is coming tomorrow with still more UI changes and gameplay tweaks
Metaphor: ReFantazio character art
Metaphor: ReFantazio battle director says turn-based RPGs can still be just as popular as action RPGs: 'I personally believe turn-based games have a long future ahead of them'
assassin's creed shadows review
Assassin's Creed Shadows streamer goes viral after confronting whining commenters: 'Normal people don't get upset about this sh***'
Assassin's Creed Shadows change seasons - An upper-body shot of Yasuke looking cheerfully up into the distance.
'This is just the beginning': Assassin's Creed Shadows dev team thanks fans for their support and promises more to come in the future
Geralt sitting on a wall wearing a Cyberpunk jacket modded by TheRealArdCarraigh
The Witcher 3 devs had to practically remake the game engine to make official modding possible