The 8 most ambitious Skyrim mods in development in 2023

It may yet be years before we get to play The Elder Scrolls 6, which means that Skyrim mods are definitely going to stay relevant for a long time to come. The Elder Scrolls modding community has always been ambitious and prolific, churning out wonderful small mods alongside giant, epic new adventures. We've already been treated to the likes of massive mods like Enderal and Legacy of the Dragonborn and other adventures on our list of best Skyrim Special Edition mods. And there are still a lot of modded adventures yet to come in Skyrim before we ever arrive in TES6.

There are some extremely ambitious Skyrim mods being worked on even in 2023. Modders haven't lowered the bar for ambition, meaning there are still more expansion-sized stories being created. Like the next Elder Scrolls game itself, some of these mods are so big and ambitious that their developers don't know when they'll actually be released. We've collected some of the biggest Skyrim mods currently in development that you'll want to keep an eye on. 

We've updated this list for the end of 2023 to show off some of the latest progress and development updates on these giant mods in progress.

Skyrim Together

Time in development: Since 2011
Release date: July 8, 2022
Playable: Yes

Sure, The Elder Scrolls Online exists, but that isn't really multiplayer Skyrim. If you want to co-op through your Nord adventures with friends, Skyrim Together Reborn is the way to do it. It was long envisioned as a fully co-op Skyrim for two to eight players and after years of work launched in 2022. 

I tried out Skyrim Together with a few friends and was surprised that, despite some enemy AI oddities and small bugs, it's totally easy to set up, especially on a LAN connection. You'll need to pick a party leader who's in charge of accepting and advancing quests and looting quest items if you want to actually co-op the campaign together. Even if you just want to muck around in Skyrim with friends, it's a surprisingly decent experience. This one is a major feat for Skyrim modding and worth giving a shot.

Skyblivion 

Watch On

Time in development: Since 2012
Estimated release date: 2025
Playable: No 

Skyblivion is likely the best known of the ambitious Elder Scrolls mods in the works right now. As part of The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project, the Skyblivion team is attempting to recreate The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion as a massive mod for Skyrim. This mod is rebuilding all of Cyrodiil, along with its quests and creatures. Not just that, but the world space that the team is building is actually bigger than Skyrim's.

Work on Skyblivion started not long after Skyrim itself launched, so this one has been in development for quite a while. As for which Oblivion systems are making the jump to Skyblivion, the team says it's working on underwater combat but recreating Oblivion's lockpicking isn't a high priority. I wouldn't hold your breath for Oblivion's conversation minigame either. That's probably not a common request, even though some of us foolishly like it.

Over 2022, the Skyblivion team shared behind the scenes production videos on their 3D art, world design, and general game design. In 2023, that trend continued with a full development roadmap overview, detailing how much work remains on the overhaul mod and providing a 2025 release estimate.

Skywind 

Watch On

Time in development: Since 2012
Estimated release date: Unknown
Playable: No

Skywind is another mod underneath The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project umbrella. As the name gives away, this one is designed to recreate Morrowind inside of Skyrim's engine. Like Skyblivion, it's a huge undertaking the involves rebuilding an entire game world as a Skyrim mod. Morrowind definitely has a weirder and darker fantasy vibe compared with the later Oblivion and Skyrim, so it's pretty darn neat to see it in a newer engine. 

It's been in the works for eleven at this point and isn't playable yet, but the team has been posting some actual gameplay demonstrations since the summer of 2020, the latest of which you can see up above. Building Morrowind inside Skyrim has involved some compromises, however, and the Skywind team breaks down which systems will be recreated on its website.

Skywind will include Skyrim's quest markers and fast travel, for example, but the team hopes to make those options configurable. As in Morrowind, Skywind will let you kill essential characters (unlike Skyrim). The team is attempting to recreate a version of Morrowind's custom spell system too. 

Beyond Skyrim 

Watch On

Time in development: Since 2011
Estimated release date: Individual releases
Playable: Beyond Skyrim: Bruma

Beyond Skyrim isn't actually a single mod. It's a collaboration between several different modding teams, each building different Tamriel provinces as Skyrim mods. The effort to create all of Tamriel inside a single game has its roots back before Skyrim itself even launched, so Beyond Skyrim has actually been around as long as the game itself. It differs from projects like Skywind and Skyblivion because it isn't actually attempting to recreate another game inside Skyrim. Instead, Beyond Skyrim teams are building Tamriel's other provinces as they'd exist at the time of The Elder Scrolls V. For recent previews detailing the various Beyond Skyrim mod locales, it's worth visiting the Beyond Skyrim YouTube channel.

So far, the team working on creating Cyrodiil has released the Beyond Skyrim: Bruma mod, which adds the snowy city you'll remember from Oblivion, with tons of characters and quests to find there. You can find more information on all the other provinces being developed on Beyond Skyrim's website.

Skyrim mods: Questing forever
Skyrim Special Edition mods: Special effects
Skyrim console commands: Endless possibilities

Apotheosis 

Watch On

Time in development: Since 2016
Estimated release date: 2025
Playable: No

Apotheosis is another large expansion mod, this one set across the 16 realms of the Oblivion wastes. Its latest trailer up there does the best job of communicating what a beautiful and creepy world it's creating. On top of the new areas, Apotheosis is spinning an epic quest about fighting and bargaining your way past a host of Daedric princes. Apotheosis has been in development for several years now, at least since its first appearance in 2016. Its original demo version is no longer available, but the full mod is looking closer to completion all the time. In its latest progress update from August 2023, the Apotheosis team provides in-depth details about its development efforts as work progresses toward the 2025 release target.

Three more expansion-sized mods

Here are another three work in progress modding projects for Skyrim that are worth keeping an eye on:

Olenveld - This is a large quest and location mod based on the island Olenveld in Skyrim, with an adventure based on the history of the island found in a lore book in game.

Lordbound - Another expansion-sized mod boasts 40 quests, 50 dungeons, voice acting, and its own soundtrack. It's set in the Druadach Valley separating Skyrim from High Rock. 

Odyssey of the Dragonborn - This giant mod is a follow up to the extremely popular Legacy of the Dragonborn, adding another museum to go on quests for across several new areas of Tamriel.