I assumed we were announcing Starfield, and since Skyrim had been out for so long, we needed to make sure fans weren't mad at us. True, it's an expensive way: trailers aren't cheap.
Purkeypile emphasized that the internal pressure in the studio is not related to strict deadlines, but to the quality of the product:
There's less economic pressure now to just release Elder Scrolls VI by a specific date, and more pressure to make sure the game is really good. And I think that's right.
He also added that Bethesda works on its own timeline and does not focus on the success of other major releases:
The games are very different. Just because one didn't take off doesn't mean another will fail.
Earlier, director Todd Howard noted that development is going "very well," and most of the studio is focused on the RPG, although part of the team is working on other projects in parallel.