- First announced
- 10 June 2018, at E3.
- Name revealed
- 3 November 2026.
- Time between the two
- Almost eight years and five months.
From the first teaser to Starfield
June 2016: first mention
Todd Howard acknowledges that a sixth game will happen, while saying it is a long way off.
10 June 2018: the announcement
Bethesda closes its E3 showcase with a short title teaser. The game is in pre-production and is due to follow Starfield.
September 2020: Microsoft buys ZeniMax
Microsoft agrees to pay 7.5 billion dollars for Bethesda's parent company, and the deal closes in 2021.
November 2021: the exclusivity comment
Then Xbox chief Phil Spencer says in an interview that future Bethesda games are part of what makes Xbox a complete package. The remark is widely read as meaning an Xbox exclusive.
June 2023: five years or more
At the FTC hearing on the Activision deal, Spencer says the game is more than five years away and that its platforms have not been decided.
September 2023: the leaked document
A Microsoft document made public through the same case suggests a launch on Xbox and PC no earlier than 2026. It was an internal plan, not an announcement, and that year has now gone.
Late 2023: full production
With Starfield out in September, the studio moves on to the game. Howard later says he would have announced it more casually if he could do it again.
2024 and 2025
25 March 2024: the 30th anniversary
For the series' 30th birthday, Bethesda says the game is in development and that early builds are being played.
November 2025: still a long way off
In a magazine interview, Howard says the game is now the studio's main priority and is still a long way off.
2026, month by month
18 February: classic style, new engine
On the Kinda Funny Gamescast, Howard calls it a classic Bethesda RPG, confirms Creation Engine 3 and says the team has passed a big internal milestone. He gives no window.
March: pretend we did not announce it
In an interview about the long silence, Howard tells fans to just pretend the game was not announced, and says most of the studio is now working on it.
June: absent from the Xbox showcase
The game misses the Xbox Games Showcase. Xbox's Matt Booty says he has seen it running, that it looks amazing and that it will be revealed at the right time.
7 July: two to three years at least
Jason Schreier says in a Bloomberg Q&A that the game is at least two to three years away.
July: layoffs at Bethesda
Microsoft's job cuts reach Bethesda Game Studios, with more than 50 people reported gone. The studio's union says programmers, artists, designers and testers were hit, and staff speaking anonymously fear delays and crunch. No delay has been announced.
17 July: the studio update
Howard's message to players calls the game the primary development focus, confirms Creation Engine 3 for it and for Fallout 5, and places Fallout 5 in pre-production. No date is given.
12 August: eight asterisks
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma posts that she has seen a live playthrough and that "the scale and grandeur are incredible", with the subtitle hidden behind eight asterisks. Sentinel has eight letters, and fans notice.
August, Gamescom: a question avoided
Asked by the BBC whether the game will be a console exclusive, Sharma answers only that it is a beautiful game.
29 October: the report
Tom Warren of The Verge reports that the game is called Sentinel, is set in Hammerfell, and that the name could come in November, perhaps around Skyrim's 15th anniversary on 11 November.
3 November: the name
Bethesda publishes a video for its 40th anniversary as a developer. At the end, Howard reveals the title and the teaser plays. Bethesda says development continues and that it will be some time before it is ready to share more. Schreier posts the same day that the game is still more than two years away.