Crossovers are fairly new territory for the Elder Scrolls series, making their first substantial and official appearance in Skyrim thanks to the arrival of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gear for players to wear. If Bethesda chooses to keep moving in this direction, it could pave the way for even more crossovers in the future of the franchise; namely, The Elder Scrolls 6. Here's how crossovers could manage to shape the future of the Elder Scrolls series moving forward.
The next game in the series was officially confirmed to be in development during E3 2018, though according to Bethesda's Todd Howard, The Elder Scrolls 6 is still in the early design stage. Currently, it seems as though Bethesda is prioritizing the development of the studio's sci-fi RPG Starfield, and will likely continue to do so up until its release in November 2022. Because of that, it's difficult to say how far out the release of The Elder Scrolls 6 could be. It does, however, appear that there's plenty of time for the design direction of the game to shift. Developers have the opportunity to look back on Skyrim and carry gameplay aspects over from the last major Elder Scrolls release, which could mean that more crossover content similar to the Breath of the Wild gear will come to the franchise.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild crossover gear is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch release of Skyrim, which came out in late 2017. The set consists of the Master Sword, the Hylian Shield, and the Champion's Tunic, each of which is designed after Link's weapons and attire as seen in Breath of the Wild, although they've been slightly visually altered to better fit in with the world of Skyrim. There are two ways to obtain it, the first being to use a Legend of Zelda amiibo on the Switch to spawn in special treasure chests. For those Skyrim players who may not have any amiibo figures on hand, traveling to the Throat of the World near Whiterun will also reward them with the Zelda-themed gear. Although there's plenty of crossover content to be found in Skyrim's expansive modding community, the Breath of the Wild tie-in marks the Elder Scrolls' series first official crossover with another franchise, though similar collaborations have since appeared in The Elder Scrolls Online.
There are plenty of other video game franchises that implement crossovers with other series as part of gameplay. The Monster Hunter series has seen a variety of collaborations, ranging from Horizon: Zero Dawn to The Witcher. These allow for players to craft unique armors and weapons similar to those from some of their favorite game franchises, and The Elder Scrolls 6 could easily follow suit.
Skyrim's Breath of the Wild gear gives a good indication of how it could work, keeping the game balanced and only implementing items that fit almost naturally with the fantastical, lore-heavy world of the Elder Scrolls series. They're also entirely optional for players to obtain. Making future crossover items crafting exclusive or likewise hidden across the world could benefit Elder Scrolls fans who still want to feel immersed in the game proper while allowing for more collaborative content. The Elder Scrolls series has always been relatively self-contained, and it seems wise to gradually ease into changing that.
This seems especially feasible thanks to Microsoft's buyout of Bethesda earlier in 2021, paving the way for the Elder Scrolls series to crossover with iconic Xbox game titles in the future. Although it remains to be seen whether the studio will follow in the footsteps of Skyrim's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild collaboration, it would be a unique way for Bethesda to take the franchise somewhere entirely new, opening up more storytelling opportunities for The Elder Scrolls 6 lore.
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