A group of modders who have been recreating The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in the Skyrim game engine have been given free copies of Oblivion Remastered by Bethesda.
The Skyblivion project started back in 2012, when developer Zilav created an early tech demo showing what Oblivion could look like in the Skyrim engine.
Since then, the project has continued to grow in scale and ambition, with the eventual aim being to fully remake Oblivion – including the world of Cyrodiil and all of its quests, locations and characters – in Skyrim: Special Edition.
When reports first started to emerge that Bethesda was working on its own Oblivion remaster, some were concerned that at some point the publisher would demand the Skyblivion project end, so as not to interfere with potential sales of its own release.
Instead, according to the official Skyblivion X account, Bethesda has gifted every modder on the team a free copy of Oblivion Remastered and assured them there are no plans to shut down their project.
“Huge thanks to our friends Bethesda Studios for their continued support of Skyblivion,” the team wrote. “As massive fans, we’re beyond grateful for the generous gift of Oblivion Remastered game keys for our entire modding team! This means so much to us. Thank you for everything, Bethesda.”
When a followed suggested that two separate releases could satisfy a single fan base, the account replied: “Exactly! Also, to clear up any confusion, Bethesda made it clear that they have no intention of shutting down our project.”
Skyblivion is set to be released later this year and will be completely free, but players will be required to own both Skyrim: Special Edition and the original version of Oblivion, including the DLCs. “Without these requirements our installer will not install the mod,” it says.
At launch the mod will contain all the base content of Oblivion remade in Skyrim. After release the team will continue to work on the project, with the aim being to remake the Oblivion expansions too, such as Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was finally released on Tuesday after months of speculation.
The remaster, which has been fully rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, features a total graphical revamp, along with changes to the audio and gameplay.
