Weekly Communication · Issue #005

Todd's Dispatch

TH
Todd Howard
Game Director & Chief Vision Officer, Bethesda Game Studios
Issue #005
Week of June 9, 2026
An Important Update on the Future of Our Journey Together

Hey everyone. Todd here.

First off — wow. The response to last month's announcement that we are "still thinking about making a game" has been truly humbling. We read every single Reddit post, Discord message, and legally-worded cease-and-desist from your attorneys, and we want you to know: we hear you. We feel you. We are, in the broadest possible sense, aware of you.

"The team is incredibly excited about a province that we cannot name, in a game that we cannot confirm, on a platform that may not exist yet."

This week, the studio has been laser-focused on what we call Phase Zero: the conceptual ideation alignment pre-production discovery sprint. It's going really well. Dave had a great idea involving a cave. We've written it on the whiteboard. It's still up there. Nobody has erased it.

I also want to address the rumors about Skyrim. Yes, we are porting it to the 2026 Bosch smart refrigerator. The ice dispenser will serve as your shout button. This is not a joke. Pre-orders open when the freezer firmware update clears certification.

As always — it just works.

Todd Howard
Director of Waiting & Applied Hype, Bethesda Game Studios