Bethesda's new Fallout Shelter-like Elder Scrolls game launches today, for real this time, nearly a year after we played it at the first launch

Bethesda officially launched The Elder Scrolls: Castles, its new Fallout Shelter-like mobile game, today, September 10. After a soft-launch earlier this year, and an even softer launch nearly a full year ago, the game is now available globally on iOS and Android.

Castles has had a confusing rollout with surprisingly little fanfare. We've had writers playing it before Bethesda ever acknowledged it existed, a region-limited launch at the beginning of the year, and now a full release with barely a peep. Outside of a handful of social posts from Bethesda accounts, the game hasn't had much in the way of marketing. Even its predecessor, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, had a comparatively sizable reveal at Bethesda's 2018 E3 showcase. It seems Bethesda is mirroring Fallout Shelter's shadow drop. 

Despite all of that, The Elder Scrolls: Castles is out now, for real this time, and you can download it to see for yourself. It's got all of the management sim gameplay from Fallout Shelter, but ditches the underground vault aesthetic for a colorful and whimsical fantasy castle. 

Each day in real life equates to an entire year in-game, so everything moves at a pretty brisk pace. Choose how you want to rule your kingdom and assign your subjects, whether that's with an iron fist or a loving heart. I'm not here to tell you what to do, I have my own castle to run. 

Bethesda has a couple of other projects in the works that we're still waiting to hear more about. Between the upcoming Starfield Shattered Space expansion, the far-off Fallout 5, and The Elder Scrolls 6, there's plenty of time for another Skyrim port (PS5 Pro, dare we dream?) and probably another mobile game or two. It's somehow been roughly six years since the announcement of The Elder Scrolls 6, and while Castles may not be the franchise update that some were looking for, it's certainly something, and it seemed pretty fun even in its earliest stages.  

The Elder Scrolls: Castles may be enough to hold you over for now, but if