Skyrim is getting fishing in a free update

Skyrim fishing — (Image credit: Bethesda)

After more than 10 years, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is getting a proper fishing mechanic as part of the iconic RPG's next-gen upgrade, Bethesda announced today during QuakeCon.

The exciting - no, relaxing - new feature was announced alongside Skyrim: Anniversary Edition, which bundles together more than 500 community mods and launches this November. But don't worry, you won't need to buy the Anniversary Edition to get fishing, as it's one of three features included in the also just-announced Skyrim next-gen upgrade, which will be free if you own Skyrim Special Edition on PC, PS4, or Xbox One. Skyrim: Anniversary Edition and the next-gen update will launch simultaneously on November 11.

To clarify, it sounds like fishing will only be available as a free upgrade if you own the Special Edition, so your base game from 2011 probably won't work. The update that adds fishing will also add a new survival mode and some new quests with Saints and Seducers. Fishing, the survival mode, and the new quests are all Creation Club content, which means they were developed by Bethesda Game Studios in collaboration with community creators. Since it's a little unclear whether the fishing mechanic was developed by Bethesda itself, an outside co-developer, or a member of the modding community, I've reached out to Xbox and Bethesda for clarification and I'll update this article if I hear back.

Regardless, I can't wait to go fishing in Skyrim. Jumping into rivers and grabbing fish with your bare ass hands is no look for a high elf (take note, Breath of the Wild).

If you want to make Skyrim look a little less 2011, you'd do well to check out our updated list of the best Skyrim mods available now.