It won't happen. First reason is that the hardware isn't good enough and the second reason is that the mobile market is terrible. Vanilla Skyrim, while still one of the greatest games, is quite repetitive, has some "meh" mechanics and the AI is terrible. Mods are what makes Skyrim the best game out there. I wouldn't bother playing Skyrim on a console, much less on a mobile device.
I'd love to see it happen. Not sure if it ever would, but Bethesda did have vague plans on making a version of Oblivion for the PSP a long time ago, so at least someone was interested in mobile devices at one time. I've spent a decent amount of time playing Skyrim on iOS via streaming, and it works very well, both touch-screen and with a controller.
Bethesda actually has a whole Elder Scrolls Travels IP. It includes Stormhold, Dawnstar, Oblivion (2D java games) and one of my favourites - Shadowkey for the N-Gage.
This is the most likely way we will ever see a ES title on mobile. I'd really like to see Bethesda revive the ES Travels franchise. They started going into the mobile platform very early on (too early?) and I'm surprised they haven't dipped into the modern iOS/android market yet.
That's too funny; I actually hate mods myself, and find the official skyrim stuff is what makes it one of the best RPGs ever. The depth of character development and immersive world, skills and loot and guilds and quests all being huge components. I myself would love anything elder scrolls I am sure or mobile, so here's to hoping.
How can you hate mods? There are thousands of mods and you handpick those that you wish to install. Hating all mods is just way too general and narrow minded. There are mods that make the AI smarter (how can you hate that?), make combat more realistic, replace current textures with better quality ones, add the ability to free-ride dragons etc. Have you tried the mod Frostfall? It adds a whole new layer to the game and makes it more immersive. I can't play Skyrim without that mod anymore. (most) Mods only exist to deepen the game or fix some aspects of it. I'm not sure how you can hate that.
As fun as mods can be, especially for those who have already put hundreds of hours into the game, I've found that they pull me out of the universe sometimes. Not always - there are some great graphical mods, AI, even some of the additional quests and levels. Some of the crazier mods just rip me out of the game. As awesome as it seems to replace dragons with Thomas the tank engine, it REALLY makes it hard to invest in the world. And there's often a general lack of polish in the mods - when I see that, it reminds me I'm playing a mod, which is exactly what I don't want.
What?? You mean killing a train engine isn't half as fun as killing a dragon???? (Yes I agree..not that much fun!!)
The hardware is better then last gen consoles On top of that we now have Metal so anything is possible. The big question is would it sell enough to be worth the port. Cause it would not be a cheap game and the controls would be an issiue. We got MFI but not everyone has one.
I can see touch controls working just fine. Controllers are overrated and a step into the wrong direction. They are for people who are unable or unwilling to adapt to touch controls. *Just for the record, touch controls can be bad, but that is the UI designer's fault, don't blame the touch controls.
Think controllers will really take off once the next Apple TV comes out which 'might' have the app store on. If that happens and we can play games directly from Apple TV onto our TV then it'll be great with controllers.