Best answer: You should still be able to play Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim on your PS5 provided that they are backward compatible to begin with. It's unknown if Bethesda plans to release separate remasters of either game on PS5.
- Journey to Tamriel: Skyrim: Special Edition ($25 at Amazon)
- Post-apocalyptic wasteland: Fallout 4: GOTY Edition ($25 at Amazon)
Can I play my copies of Fallout 4 and Skyrim on PS5?
Probably. While Microsoft just acquired ZeniMax Media, Bethesda's parent company, games that have already released on PS4 should still be playable on PS5 as long as they support backward compatibility. Sony is working to ensure that nearly all of the PS4's 4000+ games are playable on PS5.
Will Fallout 4 or Skyrim be remastered for PS5?
It's possible Fallout 4 and Skyrim could be remastered for PS5. Remasters like this would likely have been in the works for some time now, but a deal as big as Microsoft acquiring Bethesda doesn't just happen overnight. If either game is remastered, you can definitely expect them to come to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S at the very least.
Will Bethesda offer free next-gen upgrades for its games?
Yes. Bethesda confirmed in August 2020 that it would be offering free next-gen upgrades for its games coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X, including Doom Eternal and The Elder Scrolls Online.
...we can confirm we are committed to offer free upgrades for current generation console owners of existing Bethesda titles we bring forward into the next generation of consoles.
The company, however, did not reveal anything in regards to the rest of its catalog besides Doom Eternal and The Elder Scrolls Online. Considering Bethesda is on the record stating that PS4 players would receive free upgrades of the titles above on PS5, this is still likely the case.
What does this mean for future Bethesda games?
It's unclear what this means for future Bethesda games like The Elder Scrolls 6 or Starfield. There is precedent for Microsoft buying a company and still supporting its games on PlayStation, like what happened with Mojang and Minecraft. Still, many of Xbox's studio acquisitions end up making Xbox exclusives games (that also come to PC).
The wording of Bethesda's announcement was ambiguous as well, saying, "We're still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we've worked with for years, and those games will be published by us."
Microsoft has told Bloomberg that future Bethesda games will come to Xbox PC, and "other platforms on a case by case basis."
Become the dragonborn
Skyrim: Special Edition is the definitive way to play Skyrim on PS4 with all of its expansions. Hopefully, through backward compatibility, we'll be enjoying it on PS5 as well.
Explore post-apocalyptic Boston
Fallout 4 is probably the laugh good Fallout title to come from Bethesda — sorry, Fallout 76, and we should still be able to enjoy it for years to come. And who knows, maybe we'll get New Vegas 2 at some point down the line.
