The Fallen Eclipse is an upcoming open world action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is directed by Todd Howard, who also directed other games by Bethesda, and was made in collaboration with fantasy writer and Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, who provided the game's setting. The game is scheduled to be released for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on September 8th, 2026.
Premise[]
The Fallen Eclipse takes place in the fictional Continents of Union, where an evil has taken over all of the deities and demigods that resided there. Once under protection of six nations and the deities, all of them were now against each other in the midst of the chaos, and crime arose. They had no choice but to call back the outlaw warriors they banished, Trapho, the Laser Knight, Tess, the Death Wielder, and Arcan the Mage. All three must traverse what they once called home to destroy the evil and redeem themselves from the crimes they committed.
Gameplay[]
The Fallen Eclipse is an action role-playing game, which can be playable in either first-person or third-person perspective and features no camera cuts and a continuous shot. Unlike Elder Scrolls and like Fallout, the characters cannot be customized, and the player can choose between Trapho, Tess, or Arcan. Once the character is chosen, the player cannot go back to change it. The gameplay focuses on combat and exploration, but it also balances it with the story within. Throughout the game, the player goes through a linear storyline but later becomes nonlinear as they get to explore the Continents of Union freely, especially its six nations, eight areas, including castles, dungeons, underwater cities, and prisons scattered across the open-world map. Each the eight areas feature different enemies and are ruled by a demigod or deity, the main bosses of the game.
If the player chooses one of the three characters, the character will have a unique set of six attributes, Trapho has his laser sword, Tess has her Soulscythe, and Arcan has the Sword of Fury and her magic. The attributes can be used with the in-game currency, Aurums, which can be earned from killing enemies, completing quests, or trading. The Aurums are then used to purchase items, upgrade equipment, or acquire incantations and sorceries. These attributes can be enhanced when the player explores the map instead of a skill tree as well.
Todd Howard also added the six nations that would be a part of J. K. Rowling's worldbuilding. He also added faction reputation from Elder Scrolls and Fallout to keep up with the tradition. A higher reputation unlocks what can be bought in the nations, with discounts if higher. If reputation is low, the weapons unlocked remain unlocked, but prices are higher, and any known fighter within the faction start attacking.
The combat in The Fallen Eclipse tends to have the player use whatever they have strategically as well as dodging, parrying, and the use of ranged attacks. The enemies the player fights sometimes tend to have status effects which can negatively impact their health. The Fallen Eclipse also sees mounted combat return from the Elder Scrolls games, but with different mounts other than a horse "to add diversity", but a fast travel option is available. Tom Howard also introduced a crafting system that would apply for all consumables only. Todd Howard also included a way for players to keep their progress even after they died.
Non-playable characters (NPCs) are widespread across the Continents of Union, with some offering quests and rewards, some of which will be essential for the multiple endings The Fallen Eclipse offers. The player can start conversations with them or kill them, which would also prevent any quest they would have or get a potential ending. Some NPCs are essential to the main storyline, so they could not be killed even if the player tried. Todd Howard also stated he would remove the witness and law mechanic as "The Fallen Eclipse will be like Fallout, but in a fantasy setting".
Development and release[]
The Fallen Eclipse is being developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It will be announced at E3 2025 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. No updates have been made until the story trailer will be released October 2025, with additions to be compatible on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The Fallen Eclipse is being directed by Todd Howard with worldbuilding provided by the famed fantasy author J. K. Rowling, best known for her Harry Potter novel series. Having read the books himself, Todd contacted her with an offer of working together on the project, granting her unlimited creativity on developing the backstory for the main game. Several staff from other successful games (i.e. Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War: Ragnarök, etc.) also joined the game's development. Although Todd wanted to begin with the protagonists arriving, Rowling insisted he adds her backstory but leave the details for the players by interacting with NPCs or reading text.
Work began shortly after the release of The Elder Scrolls VI. Unlike Elder Scrolls or Fallout, Todd did not include character customization as he felt he created fixed protagonists that are recognizable. Todd also considered continuing the tradition of no micro-transactions, which started with Starfield, while also having second phases of bosses and challenging fights. Although the open-world map would have towns with NPC's, they would only be in the factions and the majority of the map consisting of structures for players to explore. The score will be written by Nobuo Uematsu, who is content of composing a dark fantastical score.