I doubt it, they would usually be hyping it and putting teasers out by now if it was to be released by Christmas. That’s what they did for most of the Elder Scrolls games and other releases in this franchise as well.
Most likely. The only thing no one can figure out is how they managed to keep things as under wraps as they have. There is literally NOTHING solid out there other than the couple statements by Bethesda that yes, it exists.
Like that was a great revelation to anyone. Skyrim and ESO bought them some time for Fallout but they must have hired former KGB agents to keep the lid down this long.