For those of you eagerly awaiting the release of "The Elder Scrolls 6," we have some bad news. Bethesda boss Todd Howard told The Telegraph that development of The Elder Scrolls 6 is in the very early stages.

"You should think of 'The Elder Scrolls 6' as still in the design [stage]," Howard said. I predict that we won't see TES6 for years to come, unless Bethesda's development approach changes dramatically as a result of being under Microsoft's umbrella. But that's not a bad thing.

In fact, I think it's very good news. No, I did not fall and hit my head. Just let me explain why.

Bethesda Game Studios is currently working on a little game called "Starfield," which you may have heard about since it opened the Xbox and Bethesda Game Showcase at E3 2021. Described by Bethesda as "a Han Solo simulator" and "NASA meets Indiana Jones meets The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," "Starfield" will be no small game.

Open worlds are Bethesda's forte, but they take time to create; when "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" was released, you could explore an entire country.

When "Skyrim" was released, it was quite buggy, and some of those bugs were not dry fun, but really irritating. The idea that Bethesda is not going to release "TES6" in 2022 right after "Starfield" is music to my ears. Hopefully, the developer will take more time to work out the bugs before Starfield is released. ......

A truly polished Bethesda open-world game that takes advantage of the power of the Xbox Series X is a pretty attractive prospect. Such a game could wash away the sour taste left by "Fallout 76" for many Bethesda fans (other than Tom's Guide's Mark McLaren).

Additionally, a refined Starfield is important to TES6, and Howard has said that the game will be based on the new Creation Engine 2 that Starfield uses. If Bethesda can get it done at launch (Starfield's E3 2021 trailer was very nice), it will bode well for TES6.

In a world ravaged by COVID-19 and political unrest, I am one of many Elder Scrolls fans who would love to immerse myself in a fantasy world from the comfort of my couch or gaming PC. It's hard to wait years to explore Black Rock and Hammerfall (two locations that could be the setting for TES6). But I am happy to wait for a game that Bethesda is putting its all into.

As mentioned earlier, more time would allow Bethesda to squash bugs and refine TES6. But it also means that the developer could be working on one of the most ambitious TES games ever.

Skyrim was fun, but the repetitive dialogue, lackluster main campaign, and identikit dungeons took some of the shine off. As much as I loved exploring Skyrim, I still wish it had a compelling plot like The Witcher 3, which would have given many of the locations a little more meaning. When I think of "The Witcher 3," I want people to think of CD Projekt Red's world as a county, not a country. That is not to say, however, that I feel Skyrim is static. However, Skyrim is 10 years old and it shows now. Given time and technology, TES6 could be a giant leap forward, even more so than Skyrim was over Oblivion.

Also exciting is that the longer development period will allow Bethesda to properly explore what it can do under the Microsoft umbrella. Redmond's company has Xbox and Windows 10 as well as a vast array of other technologies.

Bethesda will be able to leverage Microsoft's AI technology to make the characters in "TES6" more lifelike rather than virtual puppets tied to a set cord string. (As a result, fewer guards might be wounded by arrows and have their careers as adventurers cut short.

Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure could help support development from a practical perspective. However, there is also the potential for game features such as the further development of invasion mechanics as seen in the "Dark Souls" games.

Just by being close to the two major gaming platforms and their engineers, Bethesda can take full advantage of Windows 10 and Xbox Series X for TES6. Just having access to Microsoft's software expertise will give Bethesda an edge in testing and debugging. Developers can also take advantage of Microsoft's beta testing program and have an enthusiastic community of software enthusiasts help test various parts of TES6.

This is all my educated guess, as Microsoft and Bethesda have not said much about the deeper nuances and practicalities of Redmond's acquisition of ZeniMax Media and all its subsidiaries. But please forgive a little silver-line thinking.

In short, knowing that TES6 is potentially half a century away is a tough pill to swallow. But it's easier to swallow to hope that Bethesda will make TES6 into a game that will knock our socks off like Skyrim did a decade ago