The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is here, standing as the impressive official remaster of Bethesda Game Studios' beloved 2006 RPG – but how does its surprise arrival affect fan-made projects like Skyblivion?
The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project has evolved greatly over time since its debut recreation of Morrowind in Oblivion's engine, aptly dubbed Morroblivion, first released in 2010, with both Skyblivion and Skywind now standing as the modders' ongoing feats – two massive projects that aim to faithfully resurrect Bethesda's pre-Skyrim Elder Scrolls gems in the fifth entry's more modern Creation Engine.
Skyblivion and Skywind have both been in production for well over a decade now, but the hard work should soon pay off as the former has a set release planned for 2025 – and no, the team behind The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project isn't put off by Bethesda and Virtuos Games' own official remaster of Oblivion at all. Rebelzize, the lead developer of Skyblivion, admits as much in a recent interview with GamesRadar+.
According to the Skyblivion mastermind, the fans working on the project have had a "very positive reaction" overall: "We watched the reveal together on a Discord call, actually, which was pretty fun."
How does Oblivion Remastered affect the Skyblivion team's plans for their project, though? As Rebelzize says, it doesn't, really – in fact, The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project's planned 2025 release isn't changing, either.
"For now, it changes nothing about our plans," he explains. "We intend to release it this year still." There's ample space for Skyblivion and Oblivion Remastered to coexist, after all, especially in a world that gives so little to Elder Scrolls stans (okay, maybe I'm projecting a bit myself here, but I yearn for The Elder Scrolls 6). As Rebelzize puts it, "I think there is room for both a remake and a remaster" this year.
"We have put a lot of time and effort into rethinking a lot of aspects of the game, and I feel very confident in what we have put together," describes the Skyblivion lead, going on to say that, regardless of the future, the process has already been rewarding enough. "For me, the project has already paid off tenfold. I've learned a lot from working on it and met a lot of people, some of whom I call close friends. The release now is just a bonus."
The future, however, does look pretty positive, too. Once the long-awaited Skyblivion launch is finally upon the Elder Scrolls community, Rebelzize says there'll be more to come from the team: "We will keep working on bug fixes and the DLC after the release."
Just thinking about playing through Knights of the Nine and The Shivering Isles content again, albeit this time in the same engine employed by Fallout 4 and Skyrim, sends my heart soaring.
"Other than that," concludes Rebelzize, "[only] time will tell what's happening." Could there be a new project featuring Oblivion Remastered later down the line, then? Who knows – but judging by The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project head's words, anything sounds possible. It's not all that surprising to hear that the team is largely unaffected, aside from sharing in on fans' excitement, by Bethesda's official remaster, either.
Just last week, the developers behind the upcoming fan project shared that "both projects can exist" and "players are the true winners" with both Oblivion Remastered and Skyblivion dropping the same year. Rebelzize himself also previously stated that the latter recreation "always was a passion project and still is until the end," detailing how the former's existence "changes nothing for me" – as he does in our own interview with him.
The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project devs certainly have a point – players are the true winners, indeed. As a longtime fan of the RPG series' iconic fourth entry, I'm thrilled to be replaying it now after Oblivion Remastered, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I'm also looking forward to Skyblivion. It seems like the project's team is enjoying the official remaster as well, as Bethesda supplied every member with a key for the new RPG.
