In the wake of the official Oblivion Remastered’s release, the developers behind Skylivion are making clear that their ambitious mod over 10 years in the making is far more than just a graphics update: It “reimagines Oblivion from the ground up.”
Skyblivion looks to recreate the 2006 open-world RPG in the engine of 2011’s Skyrim, albeit with new content and gameplay changes. The mod is still slated to release in 2025, and in the latest development diary for the project, the TESRenewal mod team behind Skyblivion answers the question that has been top of mind since Oblivion Remastered released in April–what’s the point of Skyblivion when the official remaster is already available?
“The answer is simple,” the dev diary states. “Skyblivion is a full-scale remake that reimagines Oblivion from the ground up, bringing it in line with modern RPG standards. While the official remaster impressively upgrades textures and assets, Skyblivion introduces entirely newly designed areas, dungeons, cities, gameplay enhancements, and much more.”
Far from just Oblivion running in a new engine, the devs state that “every fort, home, cave, and landscape has been thoughtfully redesigned.”
“We’ve infused this sort of creative detail to breathe new life into a beloved classic–one that is nearly two decades old,” the dev diary states.
The rest of the dev diary provides ample evidence to back up the team’s “full-scale remake” claims, as it highlights how it remade the city of Anvil to feature a large harbor and is introducing a new Oblivion biome to make closing Oblivion gates “less repetitive and monotonous.”
An overhaul to the original game’s “unique” items also coming with Skyblivion. The devs note how in the original game, most unique items were unique in “name only” and were largely just modified versions of existing items recolored with a slight stat boost. In Skylivion, unique items will be “truly unique,” with updated appearances and, in the case of many unique weapons, new attack animations to help players “diversify” their playstyle.
Previous Skyblivion updates outlined how it will include new quests, monsters, a reimagined lockpicking minigame, and even new music, as well as updates to the game’s menus and UI.
Skyblivion doesn’t have specific release date, but the dev diary states the team is “confident” it will meet its goal of releasing this year. The mod will be free to download for those who own both Skyrim: Special Edition and Oblivion: GOTY Deluxe on PC.
“We’re excited to show off more soon and get Skyblivion into your hands, but we’ve still got work to do in finalizing key areas and giving Skyblivion proper quality and assurance to make sure we all get the game fans deserve,” the video concludes.
In light of Oblivion Remastered’s reveal, Skyblivion’s project lead said the release of the remaster was a “win-win” for the community. Bethesda later gifted copies of Oblivion Remastered to the entire Skyblivion mod team.
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