Nearly 15 years have passed since the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and The Elder Scrolls VI is still at Bethesdadevelopment. When asked why there were no series spin-offs developed by external teams between the two titles, Kurt Kuhlmann, former lead developer of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, stated that Bethesda was very cautious about handing The Elder Scrolls over to other teams.
Kurt Kuhlmann previously served as the lore director for The Elder Scrolls series. In an interview on the FRVR podcast, he discussed Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment: this title sparked ongoing debates among players about whether Bethesda or Obsidian was better at making Fallout games. He believes that Todd Howard, head of Bethesda Game Studios, did not want a similar situation to arise with The Elder Scrolls.
According to Kuhlmann, based on his observations during his tenure, Howard placed great importance on maintaining control over The Elder Scrolls series. He also believes that the continuous release of new content for The Elder Scrolls Online has, to some extent, alleviated the wait for new mainline entries. Although he personally enjoys single-player games, for many players, The Elder Scrolls Online is their primary way of engaging with and loving the series.
Kurt Kuhlmann left Bethesda in 2023, so the above statements reflect his observations during his tenure. Since then, Bethesda's organizational structure has changed; he did not confirm the studio's current arrangements for external teams developing The Elder Scrolls spin-offs.