The Elder Scrolls: Castles is out now as a “spiritual successor” to Fallout Shelter

• The Elder Scrolls: Castles has released globally today, September 10th
• The mobile exclusive is an empire builder where an in-game year lasts a real-world day

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Bethesda has released new mobile-exclusive empire builder The Elder Scrolls: Castles worldwide across the App Store and Google Play.

Marketed as the “spiritual successor” to Fallout Shelter, the title gives series veterans and newcomers control over their own castle.

Opting for simulation gameplay as a departure from the main series’ action RPG style hasn’t hindered Castles on launch day, with the title surging to the top of Google Play’s simulation chart.

Ready to Scroll

The Elder Scrolls: Castles was originally made available to Android users in early access in late 2023 and has been out in soft launch in the Philippines for most of 2024. Since January the title has expanded to Sweden, New Zealand, Indonesia and beyond.

Over its soft launch period, now ended, the game generated $170,000 in gross revenue with Germany, Canada and Australia comprising the largest early markets, according to AppMagic data.

While far from the first Elder Scrolls game for mobile – that would be 2003’s Stormhold – Castles is poised to carve its own niche in the franchise as a simulation game with a modern mobile philosophy. Bethesda has designed the title to advance one year in-game for every day that passes in real life, incentivising players to return each day to watch their citizens grow.

Those characters might support their kingdom, betray it, produce resources and have families. There’s also a strategic element in players’ decisions to aid or abandon neighbouring kingdoms, or settling fiery disputes between citizens.

Players are also set to receive a free Legendary Subject, Ulfric Stormcloak, as a reward for reaching two million pre-registrations. However, the character can only be unlocked by those who reach level 25 before October 10th, making this reward more of an incentive to invest time in the game over the next month.

“The time has come to play The Elder Scrolls: Castles, available now on iOS and Google Play!” said Bethesda.

“Now is your chance to create the castle of your dreams from the ground up. Design the layout, assign jobs to your subjects, and make rulings that will determine the future of your kingdom. Just know that your choices could leave you scrambling to find a new king or queen if your subjects decide they’re not big fans of the way things are going.”