In something that took the RPG community by surprise, Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos announced and shadow-dropped The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered yesterday.
The beloved 2006 fantasy RPG classic has received a comprehensive overhaul and is now available for immediate download on Xbox Game Pass, Steam, and PlayStation 5.
This isn’t just a minor graphical touch-up—Oblivion Remastered is a serious rebuild of the original game.
The remaster uses Unreal Engine 5 for visuals while sticking with the original game engine for the core gameplay systems. All models and textures have been completely remade by hand for modern resolutions, with enhanced visual effects and remastered sound design.
Gameplay got a ton of attention, too. Players can expect new combat animations with better hit feedback, an added sprinting system to make moving around easier, and a reworked third-person perspective similar to what players saw in Starfield.
The leveling system has also been redone, described as a blend between Oblivion and Skyrim‘s progression mechanics—which will likely help with the original game’s notorious level scaling issues.
One of the biggest upgrades comes in the voice acting department. The original Oblivion was known for its limited voice cast, with the same few actors playing hundreds of NPCs. The remaster gives each playable race its own unique voice lines, mixed with remastered recordings from the original to keep the game’s signature personality.
Players have two ways to buy: the Standard Edition ($50 USD) comes with the base game and all the original DLC, including the Shivering Isles expansion and Knights of the Nine. The Deluxe Edition for an additional $10 USD adds extra themed armor sets, new quests, a digital soundtrack, and an artbook.
Gamers should be aware of the hefty 125GB file size thanks to all those high-resolution assets. Also, unlike most Bethesda games, Oblivion Remastered doesn’t support user-made mods at the moment.
By Mehrunes Dagon’s beard
The shadow drop strategy—announcing and launching at the same time—has become more common in the gaming world lately, but it’s still pretty rare for big-name releases.
For Bethesda, who usually drags out hype trains with long marketing campaigns, this stealth launch is a real shake-up and has people talking all over gaming communities.
Originally released in 2006, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was a landmark RPG that helped shape open-world game design with its immersive environments, faction-based questlines, and easy-to-grasp character progression.
The remaster drops at just the right time, as players are getting more interested in polished-up RPG classics, especially with services like Game Pass beefing up their selections.
