Bethesda Celebrates Surprise Launch of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

[T0@st]

It's been thrilling for all of us here at Bethesda to revisit a game so close to our hearts with Oblivion Remastered. When we started this project in 2021, we aimed to breathe new life into a chapter of The Elder Scrolls that set the path for so many of our games after it. We never wanted to remake it—but remaster it—where the original game was there as you remember playing it, but seen through today's technology.

We were so fortunate to work with an unbelievable team and partners at Virtuos. Even though we had worked together before, we had never attempted something on this scale. Every piece of art, animation, special effects, and part of the world would be remastered. Some new voices would be recorded, while keeping the originals there as well. Game systems were updated to feel better in your hands. Leveling systems modified for smoother progression and balance. We looked at every part and carefully upgraded it. But most of all, we never wanted to change the core. It's still a game from a previous era and should feel like one.




We know many of our longtime fans will be thrilled to revisit Oblivion and the land of Cyrodiil. But there are also so many who have never played it.

We can't thank you enough for all the support you have given us and our games over the years. Our hope with this remaster is, that no matter who you are, when you step out of the Imperial sewer—you feel like you're experiencing it for the first time. We can't wait to hear about your adventures.

All our best,
Bethesda Game Studios

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Frick]

Why not the game people actually speak well about, Morrowind?

 

[MxPhenom 216]

So TPU Performance Review when? @W1zzard

 

[W1zzard]

So TPU Performance Review when? @W1zzard

I started playing it, but really not impressed with what I'm seeing, and so many other things to do

 

[ZoneDymo]

I started playing it, but really not impressed with what I'm seeing, and so many other things to do

right? Im looking forward to a possible DF video purely to see what Lumen is suppose to do....because from any screenshot or footage that I found I cant see crap.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

I started playing it, but really not impressed with what I'm seeing, and so many other things to do

Wellll shoot....is it broken?

I for one can't stand this obsession with UE5. EVERY game will start looking like the next when 3 in 5 new games use it.

 

[nRag3]

The combat interactions and physics are brutal for something released in 2025, remaster or not.

 

[ZoneDymo]

Wellll shoot....is it broken?

I for one can't stand this obsession with UE5. EVERY game will start looking like the next when 3 in 5 new games use it.

it is a serious problem, and couple that with horrible performance and stutters....but hey, Split Fiction is UE5 and that is absolutely excellent.
Just requires passionate dedicated devs and a publisher that cares about the end product......which is where we hit our first problem.....

 

[MxPhenom 216]

it is a serious problem, and couple that with horrible performance and stutters....but hey, Split Fiction is UE5 and that is absolutely excellent.
Just requires passionate dedicated devs and a publisher that cares about the end product......which is where we hit our first problem.....

And you have lamens out there that drool over UE5 and lumen, and then that sells games alone.

 

[dirtyferret]

I started playing it, but really not impressed with what I'm seeing, and so many other things to do

once you get the horse armor, it changes the game completely

 

[Frick]

I for one can't stand this obsession with UE5. EVERY game will start looking like the next when 3 in 5 new games use it.

This for sure is a big problem I have with games today. I'm not fully blaming UE5 though, I'm blaming the hunt for "good graphics", which has a tendency to mean "realistic" which means everything looks the same.

 

[Franzen4Real]

So TPU Performance Review when? @W1zzard

I started playing it, but really not impressed with what I'm seeing, and so many other things to do

I played for about 3 hours and also wasn't blown away. On ultra settings, DLAA, hardware Lumens, and no Frame Gen I was seeing between 80-100fps on a 4090 at 4K.

right? Im looking forward to a possible DF video purely to see what Lumen is suppose to do....because from any screenshot or footage that I found I cant see crap.

From the little I've played so far it seems like it varies quite a bit with time of day. For instance, at dusk where the sun is low in the sky the lighting looked way overdone, but in the afternoon when it is high above it didn't look too bad. Indoors I thought it was decent. Again, very early impressions, but I feel that if you think regular RT is hardly noticeable, then you may find this particular use of Lumens may be too much. I am going to mess with some of the brightness settings a bit next time I play and see if that helps.

 

[phanbuey]

Looks great but if your'e going to release a game like that they really need to add a coop mode

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

Wasn't there a community based project called Skyblivion? Whatever happened yo that?

 

[W1zzard]

Looks great

I don't think it does look great, maybe in teh context of a remaster, but definitely not for a $60 release in 2025

ofc graphics != gameplay

 

[oxrufiioxo]

once you get the horse armor, it changes the game completely

Me and all my buddies got the horse armor edition out of principle.

Wasn't there a community based project called Skyblivion? Whatever happened yo that?

It's still in development and I doubt this will change anything for them. Word on the street is Betheda sent free copies of this to their entire team.

Bethesda Gifts The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Keys to Entire Skyblivion Modding Team - IGN

The Elder Scrolls fans are praising Bethesda today after the developer gifted free game keys for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered to the entire team behind popular Oblivion mod, Skyblivion.

www.ign.com

Pretty cool of them.

 

[phanbuey]

I don't think it does look great, maybe in teh context of a remaster, but definitely not for a $60 release in 2025

ofc graphics != gameplay

I meant in relation to the original, and for a bethesda title (lol starfield).

I played it for 30 mins then immediately got the urge to roll a new character in KCD 2 on hardcore so I would agree that objectively, on it's own, it's not great - but for a bethesda release it's certainly better than Starfield DLC.

 

[AusWolf]

I don't think it does look great, maybe in teh context of a remaster, but definitely not for a $60 release in 2025

Based on the screenshots, I have to agree. It looks... brown. The original was a lot more vibrant and lively.

 

[Outback Bronze]

I don't think it does look great

Well, this seems disappointing coming from one of the best looking games from 2006.

 

[close]

Well, this seems disappointing coming from one of the best looking games from 2006.

I remember buying an X800 just to be able to play the original, and then finding myself standing on a hill at sunset in awe of the lighting, colors, and vegetation. I don't think I've had that feeling again about any game since then. Probably why I am still playing Oblivion regularly even today.

 

[Outback Bronze]

I remember buying an X800 just to be able to play the original, and then finding myself standing on a hill at sunset in awe of the lighting, colors, and vegetation. I don't think I've had that feeling again about any game since then. Probably why I am still playing Oblivion regularly even today.

Yeah, even my X800 XTPE struggled. It wasn't until I got a Core 2 Duo and 7950GT's in SLI did the game start getting playable and yes, I did exactly what you were doing looking at the graphics.

Id often just walk around the whole map going from Anvil to Leyawiin then up to Bruma with the occasional glance to the Imperial City. The graphics were impressive for DX9.0c.

Oh, btw not many have mentioned this, but I'm pretty sure (somebody correct me on this?) the game also won best game soundtracks of the year:

"Artistry Entertainment is proud to announce that multi-award winning composer Jeremy Soule has received the 2006 \'Best Video Game Score\' award at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards (\'VMA\') in recognition of his outstanding music for Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion".

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Yeah, even my X800 XTPE struggled. It wasn't until I got a Core 2 Duo and 7950GT's in SLI did the game start getting playable and yes, I did exactly what you were doing looking at the graphics.

Id often just walk around the whole map going from Anvil to Leyawiin then up to Bruma with the occasional glance to the Imperial City. The graphics were impressive for DX9.0c.

Oh, btw not many have mentioned this, but I'm pretty sure (somebody correct me on this?) the game also won best game soundtracks of the year:

"Artistry Entertainment is proud to announce that multi-award winning composer Jeremy Soule has received the 2006 \'Best Video Game Score\' award at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards (\'VMA\') in recognition of his outstanding music for Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion".

I mainly gamed on X360 and it looked great on that also

That was a great year for visuals honestly Fight Night Round 3 and Gears of War looked fantastic along with this.

Miss those days I feel like that was the last console generation as well as on pc 2005-2012 that games came out almost every year and blew me away.

 

[Scircura]

I'm happy for all involved in making this game, and for those who will enjoy playing it. But I'm also sad to see even more evidence that the smart business move for AAA publishers is to produce sequels and remakes forever and ever.

 

[phanbuey]

I'm happy for all involved in making this game, and for those who will enjoy playing it. But I'm also sad to see even more evidence that the smart business move for AAA publishers is to produce sequels and remakes forever and ever.

But why? alot of the younger players these days never got to experience morrowind, oblivion etc. I would love if they made more remakes and maybe added some modern multiplayer etc.

Also in the case of Bethesda, alot of the OG talent that got them to AAA is actually gone, this release is a far better quality game than Starfield. Their best bet, at this point, is to refresh the old/good IP and add coop elements. I would love to see a remaster of fallout new vegas with a modern engine, and some additions...

They should definitely enhance the game a bit more though, and maybe release with all DLC etc. or maybe add onto it a bit - fallout NV with some AI NPCs here and there, better graphics, more guns, some more play modes would be so much fun.

 

[Scircura]

But why? alot of the younger players these days never got to experience morrowind, oblivion etc.

I don't understand. The game's been continuously available for purchase on Steam for the better part of two decades, and costs only $5 during a seasonal sale. Younger players have had their whole lives to experience it! At least with last year's Silent Hill 2 remake there was the justification that the original game wasn't available on digital stores.

Do you mean the graphical "wow" us old-timers experienced in 2006 when we played Oblivion on release? Yes, that's missing if you play OG Oblivion today. I'm not sure if the remaster can bring that back--it looks "less bad" than the original, I'd say (based on watching a Let's Play).