Weekly Communication · Issue #018

Todd's Dispatch

TH
Todd Howard
Game Director & Chief Vision Officer, Bethesda Game Studios
Issue #018
Week of September 8, 2026
A Historic Announcement: The Loading Screen Is Feature Complete.

Hey everyone. Todd. Emotional again. It keeps happening.

"The game will ship the moment the loading finishes loading. Our engineers estimate this will occur in 2111, which, and I want you to appreciate this, is exactly on schedule."

I am overjoyed to report that the loading screen for The Elder Scrolls VII is officially feature complete. It loads. It has a loading screen of its own, which also loads, which contains a smaller loading screen, and so on. We followed the loading screens inward for six weeks. At the very center, at the bottom of all the loading, we found the game. It is two pixels wide. It is, so far, flawless.

To everyone who has waited: thank you. To everyone still waiting: also thank you. To Marcus, still walking, we can see your campfire from the office window, which the map team assures us is impossible. As always — it just works.

Todd Howard
Director of Loading & Applied Patience, Bethesda Game Studios