Oblivion Remastered has been in the works for 4 years, and despite big changes Bethesda says it's definitely not a remake: "We never wanted to remake it"

Despite the title leaving virtually zero room for ambiguity, there's been some confusion about whether The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is truly just a remaster or a full-blown remake, and Bethesda has officially put the matter to bed... again.

Amidst the flurry of Oblivion Remastered news and commentary that emerged yesterday, Bethesda released a detailed statement on its intention behind the game and in it, once again, didn't mince words about what exactly the game is. It's a remaster, not a remake, folks.

The developer also confirmed that it's been working with the remaster pros at Virtuous, who handled the Nintendo Switch version of Dark Souls Remastered, for four years on Oblivion Remastered.

"When we started this project in 2021, we aimed to breathe new life into a chapter of The Elder Scrolls that set the path for so many of our games after it," the statement reads in part. "We never wanted to remake it - but remaster it - where the original game was there as you remember playing it, but seen through today's technology."

To be fair, it does feel like remakes and remasters sit on opposite ends of one big spectrum these days, with some "remasters" being mere upscaled ports of old games and some "remakes" being glorified remasters with barebones retexture jobs.

Oblivion Remastered definitely sits somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, with rebuilt assets inside a completely new game engine, but it's still largely working with the original code with no meaningful changes to game design or story. For me, it sets a new standard for remasters, but it is still a remaster despite so many great modernizations and quality of life improvements.

My first 3 hours in Oblivion Remastered were crammed with 2006 weirdness, making it the perfect reimagining of my favorite RPG.