Ex-Skyblivion dev says it 'was never in the state that the videos would show off' as they claim it's crunching on a 'pointless and unachievable' 2025 release goal—but remaining devs seem optimistic

Mega-mod Skyblivion—the one that remakes The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion in the swish new Skyrim: Special Edition engine—is set to release in a matter of months after over a decade of work. The news around this has been, on the whole, quite positive. The trailers look good, its dungeons are meant to be better, and Bethesda even gave the whole team keys for the official Oblivion Remaster back when that released.

But at least one team member, or former team member, isn't happy. Dee Keyes—listed as a world designer on Skyblivion's team page, though they have confirmed to RPS that they're no longer on the project—has taken to X to criticise the project over alleged mismanagement and for "crunching" to pursue "a pointless and unachievable release date."

Keyes posted their criticism the day before Skyblivion itself posted a new video showcasing the first 15 minutes of the game. "Skyblivion's biggest strength was its PR with its dev diaries and trailers," they write, "but sadly, the project was never in the state that the videos would show off, they would require massive amounts of work to fake the polish that is present in those videos.

"While [the videos] used to be great for showing the fans and devs how the game would look when we finish it, it soon became clear that this was a level of polish that we were never gonna be allowed to achieve." To hear Keyes tell it, after an early period of "love and passion for the project," Skyblivion became "less a passion project and more of a crunch project" over the last few years.

It's worth noting that concerned fans already brought up Keyes' allegations about faking polish in videos in the mod's Discord, and other devs have disputed them. "I think they're moreso talking about things like Kvatch in this trailer," wrote one navmesh dev on the project. "Before Kvatch was done, it used a very specific camera angle.

"The recent video was edited, but moreso to cut out some of the fluff, I think… There's no need for specific camera angles anymore, as nearly everywhere other than the Imperial City is done."

Nevertheless, Keyes calls the mod's release year announcement—revealed in 2023—a "massive mistake" and says that the "decision was seemingly made not out of confidence that's when the project would be finished but out of the idea that [a release date trailer's] the kind of trailer that would get the most views.

"In the last few months, it has been impossible for me or developers to convince [lead developer] Rebelzize that this release date is not possible, this doesn't come from a place of pessimism but realism. We are unpaid and part-time, this would be a massive undertaking for a paid dev team, and yet every attempt we make to beg them to postpone, we are ignored. It's a sad time when even passion projects are getting rushed and devs crunching."

Wrapping up, Keyes says "Skyblivion is becoming Season 8 of Game of Thrones," which is to say they feel it's being forced out the door prematurely. "Skyblivion is not a project for your portfolio, it's a project for the Elder Scrolls fans."

Which is all pretty excoriating, but it's worth noting that there are plenty of devs and contributors remaining at the Skyblivion project, and while there hasn't been anything I'd call an official announcement in answer to Keyes' criticism, various figures have commented.

"We've made it clear our goal is to release this year," writes communications lead Evan Flatt on Reddit. "That being said, there is still work we need to finish. Ultimately, Skyblivion will be released when the team is confident with it… Right now, we all agree Skyblivion isn't ready (otherwise we would release it today). Our aim is that it will be by the end of the year, if we as a team decide that it isn't we will be sure to share that."

Or, as one developer put it on the Skyblivion Discord: "It won't release until we're finished."

I've contacted Skyblivion's leads about Keyes' criticisms, and I'll update this piece if I hear back.

It is, of course, hard to know where to fall on situations like these, but the ultimate proof will come with Skyblivion's release, which I remain excited for. The project's devs are at least doing a good job of seeming sanguine about it in community hubs, and my own chats with Rebelzize only ever made me more interested in the project. But sometimes good PR can obscure deep-rooted problems. Here's hoping that's not the case here.

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