During a special livestream, Bethesda Softworks officially revealed The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remaster ($49.99). It’s coming — wait, today!? Bethesda, you delightful scoundrels!
The Oblivion Remaster is available now on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, including Game Pass.
The remaster rebuilds the popular RPG with Unreal Engine 5, giving the nearly 20-year old game a big facelift. Character animations have also expanded and improved, and combat features new sound effects and haptic feedback.
New dialogue helps differentiate the various races of Cyrodiil, though Bethesda was careful to keep in some of the funnier and more iconic lines. The leveling system has also been slightly tweaked, combining Oblivion and Skyrim’s skill point system.
The remaster also includes official expansion packs, Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles, as well as “additional downloadble content.” Oblivion famously included the derided “Horse Armor DLC,” setting a trend for microtransactions two decades ago.
Oblivion released back in 2006, instantly becoming a best-seller thanks to its massive open-world, amazing graphics, and solid first-person gameplay. Though it’s often shadowed by its quirky older brother Morrowind and its mega-popular progeny Skyrim, Oblivion is still widely considered one of the best RPGs ever made.
Bethesda is still frustratingly tight-lipped about the next game in the series, The Elder Scrolls 6, which was first officially unveiled back in 2018. Since then, Bethesda released MMO Fallout 76 later that year, with dubious sci-fi RPG Starfield coming in 2023.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remaster is available in standard and Deluxe Editions. The Deluxe Edition ($59.99) includes new quests for unique armor, weapons, and horse armor, as well the digital artbook and Soundtrack App. Oblivion is rated M for Mature.
