With the recent release of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, Bethesda has taken to social media platform X to thank fans for the game’s success. In the post, Bethesda revealed a host of things about Oblivion Remastered, including the fact that Bethesda doesn’t consider it to be a remake despite the extensive changes that it has gotten over the original 2006 release.
The company also revealed that work on The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered had begun all the way back in 2021. “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,” wrote the company. “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.”
Bethesda also thanked Virtuos for its hand in working on Oblivion Remastered. The work done on the title has been quiet extensive, and even Bethesda mentions not having worked on a project of this scale before, since it features new art, animation, and special effects, among other things.
“We were so fortunate to work with an unbelievable team and partners at Virtuos,” posted Bethesda. “Even though we had worked together before, we had never attempted something on this scale. Every piece of art, animation, special effects, and part of the world would be remastered.”
The company also wrote about how gameplay aspects of Oblivion have been changed around, including smoother and more balanced progression thanks to the revamped levelling system.
“Game systems were updated to feel better in your hands,” it wrote. “Leveling systems modified for smoother progression and balance. We looked at every part and carefully upgraded it. But most of all, we never wanted to change the core. It’s still a game from a previous era and should feel like one.”
“We can’t thank you enough for all the support you have given us and our games over the years,” the company continued. “Our hope with this remaster is, that no matter who you are, when you step out of the Imperial sewer – you feel like you’re experiencing it for the first time.”
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered was released earlier this week on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Priced at $49.99 on all platforms, the game is also available through PC and Xbox Game Pass. Along with new visuals and animations, Oblivion Remastered also features an improved UI, improved enemy scaling, and changes to systems like non-combat perks and encumbrance.
For more details, here is everything you need to know about Oblivion Remastered. In the meantime, you can also check out the thoughts of former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, who doesn’t believe that Oblivion Remastered can stand out against more modern takes on the open-world RPG formula like FromSoftware’s Elden Ring when it comes to things like combat, exploration and world design. Despite this, the title has seen quite a successful launch, peaking at more than 182,000 concurrent players on Steam alone.