Thanks, Todd: Bethesda gave the whole Skyblivion mod team keys to Oblivion Remastered, and "made it clear that they have no intention of shutting down our project"

The long-rumored shadow drop of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered has finally come, and with it we've also gotten affirmation that the RPG's long-awaited unofficial remake, Skyblivion, won't be getting any pushback from Bethesda going forward. In fact, the studio is so supportive of the fan project, rebuilt in Skyrim's engine, that it sent the whole mod team keys to the remaster.

"Huge thanks to our friends [at Bethesda Studios] for their continued support of Skyblivion!" a new post from the official mod account reads. "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]."

Just to make things crystal clear, the Skyblivion team said in a reply: "Also, to clear up any confusion Bethesda made it clear that they have no intention of shutting down our project."

There had been some trepidation in the Elder Scrolls modding community as to whether the release of an official remaster would spur Bethesda or Microsoft lawyers to go after or restrict a fan-made version like Skyblivion.

It wouldn't be the first time a big developer stamped out a fan project to protect its own version. But in the past few weeks, even before today's peace treaty and Steam keys, there had really been no bad blood on display.

Just days ago, the Skyblivion team argued that "both projects can exist" and "players are the true winners" when multiple options are available. Earlier this month, the project's lead modder reiterated that he has "all love and no hate towards the people who made the official remaster."

It's worth noting that those people also include Virtuos Studios, previously known for the likes of Dark Souls Remastered. Bethesda's had nothing but praise for Virtuos, calling the team "unbelievable" partners in a statement, and seems equally enthusiastic about Skyblivion. What's better than one cake? Two cakes!

The prospect of an eventual, free, unofficial Oblivion remaster seemingly hasn't blunted today's explosive surprise launch. Oblivion Remastered was the global top-selling game on Steam within an hour of its release.

You can read up on our Oblivion Remastered live coverage for all the standout news and details from Bethesda's big reveal.

Ironically, Bethesda says "mods are not supported" for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered despite its pro-mod history.