[Multiplatform] The Elder Scrolls V: Now with 30% more criminal scum

So, if you're the sort of person who considers interview slip-ups, careless product descriptions and trademark filings reputable sources of information, then it should seem obvious that a new Elder Scrolls game is in development. Also, given that it's a successful series that sees a new main instalment roughly every four years, supposing that a new one is in development isn't really that outlandish.

Crawling the United States Patent & Trademark Office shows that Zenimax - Bethesda's parent company - currently has three unused trademarks, all for videogame-related applications: Skyrim, Deathmark and Dishonored. Skyrim is the only one with direct relation to the game series, and implies that the game will take place in the northern province; Deathmark could apply to absolutely anything; and Dishonored expired some years ago (that said, though, the Oblivion trademark was initially filed in 1995, went stale, and was re-applied-for shortly before the game was announced).

Then there are the times employees accidentally let things slip: "New Elder Scrolls in 2010," said some dude last October, and "Todd Howard and his team have their hands full with The Elder Scrolls and Fallout," said another guy this June. On the flipside, Todd Howard himself said nothing was going on at Quakecon this year, which was rather silly - I find it rather difficult to believe Bethesda as a whole is sitting on their thumbs doing fuck-all; the new Fallout game has been outsourced to Obsidian, they have no involvement with Brink aside from publishing it, and they're not producing any more content for Fallout 3.

Another interesting point is Bethesda's ownership of domains like elderscrollsmmo.com and theelderscrollsonline.net, implying that the next game in the series could be an MMORPG (please god no).

Lastly, the blurb for a new novel set in the universe mentions something interesting:

Quote:

A novel that takes places forty-five years after the Oblivion Crisis, which is the story of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion game and the expansion pack Shivering Isles. It partly bridges the gap for the next game, which is set 200 years after the Oblivion crisis.

The above originally appeared on Waterstones' page for the book, but has been trimmed from the description since yesterday.

t.l.;dr.: TES5 is probably in development and might be coming as soon as next year. Here's hoping they'll fix everything I didn't like about Oblivion - level scaling, shit animations, an awful dialogue system and vast swathes of pointless empty countryside. Given how popular it was, though, I can see them sticking to the same tricks for the next instalment. Bah.

Jam it back in, in the dark.