The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind Modders Don’t Want Bethesda to Give It the ‘Oblivion Treatment’

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The vibrant community dedicated to modifying The Elder Scrolls series stands out as one of the busiest, with the ongoing Tamriel Rebuilt project for The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind showing no signs of slowing down. Established in 2001, this extensive modification not only expands the game’s original island of Vvardenfell but also encompasses the entire mainland of the province of Morrowind.

The group responsible for this 24-year-old modification seeks to maintain the authenticity of the original game, while simultaneously improving upon its foundation and expanding upon it.

As a devoted fan, I can’t help but marvel at the latest expansion, Grasping Fortune, from Tamriel Rebuilt. With Bethesda now remastering The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, I find myself pondering: might the creators of one of Morrowind’s longest-running modding projects also crave a similar makeover for their cherished title?

Bethesda remastering The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind would “mess things up”

The dedicated team working on the Tamriel Rebuilt project has not been affected in the least by Bethesda’s meticulous and highly successful revamp of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. In fact, they appear to be thriving without a possible remaster of Morrowind.

In a chat with PC Gamer, the lead developer behind the modding initiative called Cicero, shared his thoughts on not desiring a Morrowind remaster in the vein of Oblivion, because he feels that updating it might undermine the unique appeal of the original game.

I’m glad whenever Todd Howard expresses his preference against a Morrowind Remaster, as it would only complicate matters… A modernized version of Morrowind might spoil the entire game experience.

It becomes quite understandable and logical that fans might lose interest in an official remaster given how long the modding project has been ongoing. Moreover, Cicero clarified that Bethesda’s remastering of Oblivion didn’t necessarily cause concern about a possible remaster of Morrowind.

To be honest, it seems [Oblivion] is simpler to upgrade compared to Morrowind. Consequently, there’s little cause for concern regarding its remastered version. In fact, the release of Oblivion Remastered has been beneficial for TR, as Grasping Fortune came out a week afterwards, and we found ourselves immersed in the Elder Scrolls news hype.

According to Cicero’s perspective, Tamriel Rebuilt is expected to complete its project by 2035, implying that there’s still a considerable distance yet to cover. It would be prudent for Bethesda to allow the team to carry on with their work, unless Todd Howard chooses to intervene, which could potentially undermine all the efforts the team has made over the past two decades.

It’s important to point out that Bethesda doesn’t harbor any dislike towards its modding community; in fact, they extended an invitation to the Skyblivion modding team to visit their headquarters, demonstrating their support even after officially remastering Oblivion.

Perhaps Todd might express gratitude towards the Tamriel Rebuilt team and abide by their requests, as Bethesda concentrates on refining a different Fallout title, possibly, rather than revisiting another Elder Scrolls series.

Should The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind get a remaster from Bethesda?

Contemplating the triumph of Oblivion Remastered, one can’t help but wonder what other games from their catalog might look if given similar enhancement. Particularly, Morrowind comes to mind. However, considering that the Tamriel Rebuilt team is already putting in a great deal of effort, an official remaster could potentially be deemed unnecessary or even redundant.

Instead of merely enhancing its appearance with newer graphics, Tamriel Rebuilt is essentially finishing and expanding Morrowind in multiple aspects.

Instead of getting bogged down by the clumsiness of Morrowind, Bethesda should direct their attention towards refining The Elder Scrolls 6. If they decide to re-release another game from their library, let’s hope it’s a title that has minimal active modding support and is well-received by dedicated fans.

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2025-05-30 14:33