Wading into the discourse around the heavily leaked Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remaster, Bethesda has announced an oh-so-mysterious "IV" announcement stream for tomorrow, April 22, at 11am ET / 4pm BST.
Further solidifying expectations, a placeholder stream on YouTube reads: "All will be revealed..."
The artwork and "IV" leave no room for doubt: this is the Oblivion remaster announcement. That said, there's still some lingering uncertainty over whether the remaster's rumored shadow drop will bookend this reveal stream, or if launch will come sometime afterward.
Fans dug up an apparent backend link to a soon-to-be-live Oblivion remaster website earlier this month, and the unannounced game has only sprung more leaks since.
Images from Virtuous studios – the Dark Souls remastered studio, and now seemingly the Oblivion remaster's co-developer or lead developer – were by far the leakiest. If your game has side-by-side images out in the wild, I think it's safe to say the cat's not going back in the bag.
Those screenshots showed substantial visual upgrades for the 2006 RPG, and previous rumors, which are looking increasingly accurate, also hinted at gameplay improvements.
The standout is overhauled combat, with blocking purportedly veering closer to the Soulslike formula – fittingly enough, given Virtuous' Dark Souls remastered background – and stealth, archery, and stamina management are possibly all getting various modernizations.
That said, these are the fuzziest leaks we have, so hold your horses until the reveal stream.
News of an official Oblivion remaster has sparked interesting comments from the mod team behind Skyblivion, an unofficial Oblivion remaster made in Skyrim's engine. The team says "both projects can exist" and "players are the true winners," welcoming a Bethesda-backed version and enjoying the prospect themselves.
Why wait? Oblivion fans have already made their own remaster in Doom, and it features one too many adoring fans for my liking.
