A recent trademark filing may indicate that the title of the long awaited sixth game in the popular Elder Scrolls series is Redfall. While publisher Bethesda Game Studios confirmed that production has started on the game, any details as to the story, its precise setting and even its title have been kept firmly under wraps.

Set in the magical world of Tamriel, The Elder Scrolls series first premiered on personal computers in 1994 with the game Arena. Originally intended to be a fantasy combat game, the role-playing and story elements quickly took precedent over the action, giving way to one of the most original and complex mythologies in all of video game history. The latest game in the series, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, was released in 2011 and quickly became a fan favorite and an award-winner. Skyrim remains popular even today thanks to the efforts of one of the largest online modding communities in existence, but Elder Scrolls enthusiasts still anxiously await the release of sixth game in the series.

Newsweek reported on the filing by Zenimax Media Inc. - the parent company of Bethesda Games, who produce the Elder Scrolls series. They confirmed that Zenimax filed a trademark on "Redfall" in relation to a "computer game software for use with computers and video game consoles." The company made similar filings regarding the name Skyrim shortly before confirming the title of the fifth Elder Scrolls game.


This news has fans all over the Internet guessing, though there is no real proof that there is any connection between Redfall and The Elder Scrolls brand. Since the second game in the series, Daggerfall, every game has based its title around a location from the world of Tamriel, be it a city, a continent or (in the case of the fourth game, Oblivion) a mystic plane. There is no place called Redfall mentioned in any of the previous Elder Scrolls lore or maps.

Some speculate that the title could be a reference to the Redguard race and their homeland of Hammerfell. During the time of Skyrim, Hammerfell was in dire straits, facing a long civil war after leaving the Cyrodilic Empire to stand as a free nation while facing invasion from The High Elves. Though the people of Hammerfell weathered both crises, it was still in a weakened position even after The High Elves gave up conquering their land and it's possible the new nation may be on the brink of collapse (or falling) by the time of the sixth Elder Scrolls game.

Whatever the case, it will likely be some time before Bethesda confirms the name of the next game in the Elder Scrolls series. Thus far, all of the information on the game amounts to a single trailer and even that does little more than confirm that the game exists. Still, it seems safe to say that the long wait will do little to dampen the enthusiasm of the series' fans.