The Oblivion Remake Is Coming At A Perfect Time For Bethesda, But Elder Scrolls Fans Can Reap The Benefits Too

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remake is finally getting its full reveal after years of rumors, bringing back one of Bethesda’s most iconic fantasy RPGs. Even if Oblivion hasn’t aged the best over the past 19 years, that doesn’t mean its core mechanics and fantastic question design don’t hold up today. On top of bringing the classic experience into the modern day with revamped visuals, the renewed interest in The Elder Scrolls could have additional benefits as well.

With how widely believed Oblivion still is to this day, the most surprising aspect of the Oblivion Remake reveal is simply how long it took to come about. The Oblivion Remake was originally rumored to be released in 2022, and while it’s more than a little late to the party all these years later, I’m still just as excited as ever. While it remains to be seen how well the latest remaster will fare, its benefits could be wide-reaching enough to affect fans of the Elder Scrolls franchise as a whole.

Oblivion Remake Is Good Business For Bethesda

An Easy Win For The Monolithic Game Studio

While it might be hard to capture the original spirit with Oblivion as a remake compared to the original game, it’s hard to picture this version of Oblivion not being a massive success for Bethesda. Even the less-than-well-received Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy was still a massive success for Rockstar, being speculated to have sold over 10 million copies according to Video Game Chronicle. Hopefully the Oblivion Remastered edition will avoid the failures of GTA‘s outsourced trilogy, but the leaked photos give me plenty of hope for its success.

The strangest part about the Oblivion remake’s release is the marketing choices backing the game, with Bethesda seemingly capitalizing on the mystery behind Oblivion‘s release more than anything else. While it was an odd choice to leave the major marketing up to their community, it seemed that Elder Scrolls fans failed to disappoint as the news quickly spread like wildfire. I have little doubt that Oblivion remake will be another smashing success for Bethesda, but the project is just as good for fans as it is the studio itself.

A Much-Needed Remaster To Take Advantage Of A Wider Audience

The gaming community as a whole has grown significantly over the years, with countless more players interested in the hobby who have never had a chance to play the original Oblivion since 2007. While Oblivion isn’t exactly the hardest game to get a hold of digitally, its age offers a significant hurdle for most new players. This problem is made especially apparent by players that jumped into Oblivion after playing The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, which benefits from having much better quality of life improvements and a more modernized visual experience, especially after its almost comedic number of re-releases.

Related

The Elder Scrolls 6 Needs To Bring Back These Oblivion Features That All Versions Of Skyrim Ignored

Despite being almost 20 years old, Oblivion still has a lot to teach any future instalment of The Elder Scrolls, starting with these two key features.

Even Elder Scrolls fans that have beaten the original Oblivion can still benefit from the remastered experience, as it’s been more than long enough to warrant a second, or even third, playthrough of the beloved fantasy RPG. While the more recent Skyrim might be a better overall experience, Oblivion offers more quality over quantity with its quests. Many of Oblivion‘s quest lines were a lot longer than Skyrim, with a surprising amount of depth to its characters for such an old game, taken to even greater heights through its highly rated DLC.

There’s no doubt that Oblivion has some of the best guest designs in the series, but it’s hard to get past how considerably the game has aged over the years. Thankfully, the new remaster is the perfect chance for a second life for one of the best games in The Elder Scrolls franchise, while also giving Bethesda the opportunity to create a more consistent gameplay and lore experience between Skyrim and its predecessor.

An Excellent Way To Pass The Time Between Releases

The decision to push for an Oblivion Remake not only offers a new way to play the classic game, but gives the series an additional boost in popularity before the next major release. With how many years it’s been since Skyrim originally came out, the Elder Scrolls series has grown significantly stagnant over the years. Compared to the roughly four-year average wait between releases, The Elder Scrolls franchise hasn’t seen a new game aside from Skyrim in over a decade, making the news of an Oblivion Remaster a welcome breath of fresh air.

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Infamous Horse Armor Returning To Oblivion Remaster, According To Leaked Images

The long-rumored remaster of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion appears to be real, and the Deluxe Edition seems to bring back the maligned horse armor.

Even if Bethesda is unlikely to be short on resources following the commercial success of Starfield, it could be a long time before the next entry in the Elder Scrolls franchise is ready for a gameplay reveal. Given how long I’ve been waiting for a new entry, I’m incredibly excited to another adventure through Oblivion with its remastered version. Aside from easing the painfully long wait before The Elder Scrolls 6 eventually releases, the success of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remake could have plenty of positive effects on the upcoming games’ development, helping it to reach its full potential for the series.

Source: Video Game Chronicle

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Systems

Released

March 20, 2006

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence

Engine

havok, speedtree, gamebryo