We Still Don’t Have Elder Scrolls VI, But Bethesda Just Surprised Us with Elder Scrolls: Castles

Skyrim fans have been eagerly grasping at any news about the next installment in the Elder Scrolls franchise, and it’s been few and far between. We still know very little about Elder Scrolls VI, save that it’s in early development. Bethesda has mostly been talking about Starfield recently, which made it that much more surprising when fans noticed a new mobile surprise in the Google Play store.

With basically zero fanfare, Elder Scrolls: Castles dropped for early access in the Google Play store. Now, we’re all asking: What is Elder Scrolls: Castles, and why are we just now learning about it?

Related: New job listing for The Elder Scrolls 6 hints at Multiplayer

What Is Elder Scrolls: Castles?

Elder Scrolls: Castles is a mobile, medieval-themed dynasty building game set in the world of Tamriel. You build your castle and oversee your kingdom, and create heroes to go on quests for the good of your kingdom. In other words, it’s more or less a cozy kingdom simulator game with a dash of loose Elder Scrolls flavor sprinkled in.

Elder Scrolls: Castles has a generational saga focus. Each day in real life is a whole year in the game, giving you a broad scope to work with as you build a legacy over time. This is an interesting take that will ensure players focus on the bigger picture of their realm rather than leveling up individual characters.

Fans have been quick to point out that the game sounds very similar to Bethesda’s smash hit mobile game, Fallout Shelter, but with a medieval theme. It does not, however, look or feel very much like an Elder Scrolls title, with a more cartoonish art style than prior games in the franchise that render characters like the Khajit nearly unrecognizable.

Where Can You Play Elder Scrolls: Castles?

Right now, Elder Scrolls: Castles is only available for early access through the US Google Play store, meaning it is a very limited release at this point. If you have a Google Play device, the game is free to download and play, though it is still in early access.

Since we still don’t have any official information from Bethesda, other than what’s in the game store itself, it’s unclear when and if the game will be available in the iOS store or for any other platforms. However, Bethesda’s previous mobile titles have been available for both Android and iOS, so we can probably expect an iOS version of the game to be released at some point.

At this point, we still have more questions than answers about the surprise early access launch of Elder Scrolls: Castles. Reactions thus far have been mixed. On one hand, the game doesn’t look or feel like an Elder Scrolls title, which is disappointing given how much we all want to see Elder Scrolls VI. On the other hand, many fans are willing to give it a try since it has so many similarities to Fallout Shelter, which was a huge hit for good reason. Only time will tell what Elder Scrolls: Castles will hold for fans of the series.