Oblivion’s Remaster Rumor May Be a Double-Edged Sword

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 29, 2024 6 Views 6 Min Read
Oblivion's Remaster Rumor May Be a Double-Edged Sword

While years of waiting have passed since the initial announcement of The Elder Scrolls 6, fans of the series may soon be greeted with news of an entirely different entry instead. It seemed that Bethesda had largely moved on from The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, but recent rumors have suggested that the beloved RPG receiving a remaster could be the current priority of the studio. Although a return to the trailblazing open-world experience of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion would be a welcome celebration of the franchise’s legacy, news of its development might not be the most promising sign for TES6‘s release timeline.

The gap between AAA game entries from major studios has grown in the industry as a whole, but the thirteen years that have passed since Skyrim first launched have left fans without a new mainline entry for an exceptionally long time. In the face of rumors of an upcoming reveal for a remaster of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion at the January 2025 Xbox Developer Direct, the series’ community may find itself torn between new and old titles due to the split in resources required from Bethesda.

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Bringing the Land of Cyrodiil Up to Modern Technical Standards

Even though the 2006 release of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion was an impressive leap forward in several key areas of technical fidelity for its time, it can hardly be said that the title’s visuals and AI have aged well. A dated art style, stiff animations, and the compromises necessary for the hardware of its era all hold this title back, regardless of the rich depth of its quests and role-playing potential. By allowing it to live up to the current line-up of Bethesda’s catalog, however, a new generation could explore Oblivion with a similar sense of wonder.

Testing the Waters Ahead of TES6

Depending on the engine that the studio chooses to focus on moving forward, an Oblivion remaster could serve as a project that emphasizes technical progress over designing original areas and art. This would be ideal for setting the stage for the next numbered title, but it would also require The Elder Scrolls 6‘s long development cycle to come to an end within a relatively short timeframe, something Bethesda is far from known for, in order to fully capitalize on these advancements.

Yet Another Project in the Way of Bethesda’s Long-Awaited Continuation

It’s become clear that the company has its hands full between recent ongoing support for Fallout 76 and Starfield, both of which have likely consumed significant resources despite the presence of multiple teams at the studio. Frustration after more than 2300 days since The Elder Scrolls 6‘s announcement is practically guaranteed to keep building if the game doesn’t come sooner than later, with the reveal of an Oblivion remaster potentially adding more fuel to the fire. With multiple rereleases of Skyrim essentially carrying the IP for more than a decade, the revitalization that a brand-new entry could bring to the table is becoming increasingly necessary.

It’s worth noting that a remaster may not require many resources from Bethesda, assuming it’s not giving the remaster to a third-party studio, and so there may not be an impact on the timeline for TES 6’s launch.

While the temptation to revisit a title as legendary as Oblivion is understandable, the risk of stagnation needs to be acknowledged ahead of possibly disregarding a faster production for the next game. There’s no doubt that an update to an older title could still be a vehicle for fresh ideas, but fully delving into a new province like Hammerfell or High Rock in The Elder Scrolls 6 is far more primed to live up to the hopes of longtime fans. Despite its clear value in preserving the series, a return to Cyrodiil may be better suited for the time period that follows TES6.

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