Skyblivion stood alone for a long time with the big dream of bringing Oblivion back. Now Bethesda is taking over with Oblivion Remastered, but that’s not the end.
Imagine you’ve been working on the game of your dreams for 13 years, you’re finally on the home stretch, and then someone snatches the spotlight away from you in the last few meters. That’s kind of what’s happening right now with Skyblivion and the official remaster of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Since 2012, a team of modders has been working voluntarily on a mega project to bring the classic Oblivion into the modern age using the Skyrim engine. The game is finally set to be released in 2025 – and now, out of nowhere, a real Oblivion Remastered has been announced by Bethesda itself (or rather, developer Virtuos).
Phew.
But while Oblivion Remastered is currently causing people to freak out with joy on Steam, there is clearly no tension between Bethesda and Skyblivion. On the contrary: Bethesda has gifted the entire modding team keys for the remaster. The modders themselves announced this via X (formerly Twitter):
Huge thanks to our friends @BethesdaStudios for their continued support of Skyblivion!
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 pic.twitter.com/vLsuzhdgkX
— Skyblivion (@TESRSkyblivion) April 22, 2025
Literally translated:
A huge thank you to our friends at Bethesda Studios for their continued support of Skyblivion!
As huge fans, we are incredibly grateful for the generous gift of keys to Oblivion Remastered for our entire modding team! It means so much to us. Thank you for everything,
Bethesda.
On the eve of the Oblivion Remaster release, the modding team had already expressed their positive views on the developments. From the outset, Skyblivion had been primarily a passion project that could only exist thanks to Bethesda’s support. No one is financially dependent on the development; for those involved, it primarily serves as a springboard to enter commercial game development.
