“Even though I worked on Oblivion Remastered, I’m still excited for Skyblivion.” Bethesda dev shouts out huge Oblivion remake mod coming later this year

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Last week, after an unexpected release of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 by Bethesda and Virtuos Games, there’s been a buzz about the fan-created project, Skyblivion. This ambitious reinterpretation of the 2006 RPG is being developed using the engine from Skyrim Special Edition. Initially, fans were concerned that Bethesda’s Unreal Engine 5 remaster might have overshadowed the efforts of the mod team.

Instead, the team behind Skyblivion alleviated concerns by clarifying that the project is closer to a ground-up remake rather than a simple remaster. Notably, Bethesda acknowledged the mod in their most recent video posted on their YouTube channel.

In this video, we’re focusing on Dan Lee, who serves as the head developer for Bethesda’s Creations program (a collection of curated DLC mods) and art director for Oblivion Remastered. During the video, he shares that his career at the studio has spanned over two decades. He initially joined as an intern on the original Oblivion project, eventually earning a permanent position by proposing a creative method to design a waterfall within the Gamebryo Engine (the forerunner of the Creation Engine used in titles like Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield).

In this rephrased version, I’ve aimed to maintain the original meaning while making it more conversational and easier to read.

Subsequently, Lee discusses his entire career at the renowned software company, with key points such as designing Liberty Prime in Fallout 3, creating several visual effects for the opening sequence of Fallout 4, reviewing art for Fallout 76 and Starfield, and managing the Creation Club program (previously known as Creations). This is a captivating interview that delves into the standout Skyrim creations, technical hurdles faced by Bethesda and Virtuos when developing Oblivion Remastered, and I strongly advise watching it via the link provided or embedded below.

As I bring my analysis to a close, I couldn’t help but take a moment to highlight Skyblivion. Despite my role in the development of Oblivion Remastered, I find myself equally enthused about the masterpiece that this dedicated team has been working tirelessly to produce.

Despite my involvement with Oblivion Remastered, I remain enthusiastic about Skyblivion. I believe the work they are doing is quite unique, and I can’t wait to witness their take on our past creations. I think it’s an outstanding year for fans of Oblivion.

They appreciated the warm shout-out on social media, and in response, they expressed their equal enthusiasm about releasing Skyblivion this year, matching your eagerness to play it! Thank you for the mention and complimentary words. As you rightly put it, it’s indeed a fantastic year for fans of Oblivion.

It’s fantastic that, given other companies might issue a stop-work order to modders working on a project like this, it’s refreshing to observe Bethesda – a studio known for its support of mods – applauding and amplifying the efforts and ingenuity of their community. Particularly noteworthy is that they recently provided game keys for Oblivion Remastered to the entire Skyblivion team, which is simply amazing.

I completely concur with Lee that Skyblivion is still an exciting prospect, despite the release of Oblivion Remastered. Unlike the official remaster which enhances the original gameplay and world design by upgrading visuals significantly and incorporating quality-of-life improvements (like a third-person mode that’s not terrible), Skyblivion is a comprehensive remake that has been under development since 2012.

Absolutely, this mod is set to bring massive changes, as its developers aim to overhaul numerous in-game areas inspired by concept art and lore, introduce or revise numerous systems and opponents within Oblivion, reinstate content that was originally cut from the game, expand Cyrodiil with new environments, and much more. For a comprehensive look, take a peek at the article I provided at the beginning of this discussion.

2025 is when Skyblivion, a highly anticipated Skyrim mod, is expected to come out. Once it does, it’s clear that it will quickly become one of the greatest Skyrim mods ever created. However, it’s exclusively for PC users, and you’ll need both Skyrim Special Edition and the Oblivion GOTY Deluxe Edition to run it. Until then, you can grab a discounted version of Oblivion Remastered (usually $50) at Fanatical for only $41.49, or play it through Xbox Game Pass on both Xbox and PC platforms.

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2025-05-02 00:39