One Of Microsoft’s Games May Seemingly Take A Decade To Complete

Microsoft trying to acquire Blizzard Entertainment is easily one of the most significant acquisitions the gaming industry has ever seen. The huge deal has seen a lot of barriers from Sony and other major corporations, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), recently suing to block the acquisition from materializing altogether.

The FTC recently published a complaint that discussed the particulars of the deal, calling it “anti-competitive,” “anti-consumer,” and that it would degrade the rivals of content. Despite the massive complaint document citing against the acquisition, it also notes that one of Microsoft’s titles in the works may take a decade to develop.

Major Rundown

• According to the Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft is developing a project that may take a whole decade to complete.
• The document censors the project name, its franchise, and other particulars; the community has narrowed down the possible contenders. 
• As per fans, FTC could be referring to Elder Scrolls 6 here, which was announced in 2018. However, it could have been in pre-production for much longer. 
• It is possible that any of the games FTC points to could just be halted, for the time being, continuing development at a later stage.

The document stated that Microsoft and Sony both develop AAA titles, giving examples like “Elder Scrolls, Halo, and Forza franchises” for Microsoft and “God of War, MLB The Show, and Spider-Man franchises” for Sony. It discusses how Microsoft’s experience with releasing AAA titles mirrors the finances and time to develop them.

Federal Trade Commission then gave examples to make its point:

50: Microsoft’s own experience with releasing AAA games reflects the cost and time to develop such content. Halo Infinite, a recent title from the Microsoft’s first-party Halo franchise, was in production for REDACTED years, and cost almost REDACTED million. Other AAA games may take even longer to develop. For instance, according to one Microsoft executive, REDACTED a forthcoming title from the franchise REDACTED, may take a REDACTED to develop,” iterated by the Page number 9 of the FTC document.

The fans have whirred that FTC could be pointing towards the highly-awaited Microsoft title, Elder Scrolls 6. The game was announced in 2018, and it has since mostly been quiet for the project. But it does not suggest in any way that the title is undergoing development hell or financial issues, as the wording by FTC implies.

The game has not been in active development for the whole ten years. The lack of developers, resources, or finances could quickly halt the development or push it toward the future.

Moreover, the active development may also have been shelved because of the staggering success of its earlier renditions that still remain highly populated by players. Elder Scrolls VI may have spent a long time in the pre-production phase, possibly being conceptualized well before its memorable announcement. 

Most of the AAA titles spend years in the pre-production stages before anything concrete is finalized. In the early phases, the team of developers usually pitches ideas to the executives, the resources are allocated, and things are conceptualized and finalized before the active development actually commences.

The document could also be hinting toward the next Fallout, but all of these rumors should be taken with a grain of salt. We cannot pinpoint the exact context behind the wording by the Federal Trade Commission. However, the chances of this shrouded game being unannounced appear pretty slim.

What are your thoughts regarding one of the Microsoft projects taking a whole decade to fully develop and release? Do you think the noted timespan relates to one of the upcoming games, such as Elder Scrolls 6? Do let us know your opinions in the comments below.

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