Bethesda gives full-throated shout-out to Skyblivion fan remake after giving the whole dev team free Oblivion Remastered keys: 'I think what they're doing is very special'

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It's all love, no hate on both sides.

I'll be honest, before the release of Oblivion Remastered, I thought it and Skyblivion—the fan mod that rebuilds Oblivion in Skyrim Special Edition—were diametrically opposed. This was zero-sum game territory, surely? If one gets mega-popular it can only be to the detriment of the other. Winner takes all. Only one leaves alive.

Well don't I feel like a fool? Not only did the Skyblivion team send "all love and no hate" to Bethesda and Virtuos' official remaster just before it finally released, but Bethesda then gave them all keys for the game for free. In a world of litigious megacorps sending the lawyers after their most passionate fans for daring to touch their IP, it's behaviour that's been a real credit to Bethesda and the Skyblivion team both.

And it doesn't stop there. In a just-released developer spotlight with art and development lead Dan Lee, Bethesda gave yet another shout-out to the Skyblivion team. "Even though I worked on Oblivion Remastered," said Lee, "I'm still excited for Skyblivion." Bethesda even played some footage of the mod while Lee waxed lyrical about it. It still looks great, if you're wondering.

"I think what they're doing is very special," continues Lee, who also worked on original Oblivion, Skyrim, and Fallouts 3, 4, and 76. "I'm excited to see their interpretation of what we've done in the past. I think it's a great year for Oblivion fans."

The Skyblivion team responded to Lee's shout-out on Bluesky: "Dan, we're just as excited to get Skyblivion into your hands this year as you are to play it! Thanks for the shout-out and kind words."

Skyblivion spriggan forest creature

Skyblivion is due out this year. (Image credit: Bethesda, Skyblivion Team)

Skyblivion isn't the only mod Lee called out. He also tipped his hat to quest mod Sirenroot, the East Empire Expansion, the Bards College Expansion, the Coven of Crones and plenty else besides.

But when it comes to Skyblivion, Lee has good reason to be excited. Skyblivion is still set for a 2025 release after a lengthy development process, and it's not letting Oblivion Remastered deter it from that goal.

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Joshua Wolens
Joshua Wolens
News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

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