The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project has taken many turns since its debut project Morroblivion released in 2010, with Skyblivion and Skywind now standing as the modders’ ongoing feats – and while the latter has been in development for over a decade now, the creators think it’ll be well worth the wait.
Skywind aims to give Morrowind a breath of fresh, modern air by recreating the iconic 2002 title from the ground up in the Skyrim engine. The project commenced in February 2012 after Bethesda’s Creation Kit launched, allowing modders to freely view and edit the game’s data files, but it has yet to be released. As the team behind Skywind shares in a recent stream, “It’s going to be awesome though, when it’s out!”
Development isn’t always easy, however, especially for a group of volunteers. “It’s going to be amazing and we’re trying our hardest, but you know, sometimes things happen and we’ve just got to move past them and keep going. It’s not quite like AAA game development, because if this was an official project from a game studio, everyone working on it is getting paid, right? Like all of their time is dedicated to it.”
That’s not the case for a project like Skywind, according to the modders. “But in the case of a volunteer project like this,” they say, “everyone’s got to juggle their life and their time for the hobbyist project, and it just takes a little longer.” There are some upsides to it not being AAA, though, even if production could be speedier backed by an “official” company. “If we were all working with Bethesda … yes, Skywind would come out faster,” another modder says.
Skywind wouldn’t be the same then, however – “it would be a much worse game.” The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project stands as “just a bunch of people who are super passionate,” and to the modders, that means the final game is “going to be better.” This all comes down to the “full creative freedom” Skywind’s creators give one another, which ultimately “leads to so much diversity” that likely wouldn’t be present otherwise.
While there’s still no telling when Skywind will finally be released, the team’s perspective is reassuring, to say the least. As the modders conclude, “You just got to be patient” – a mantra I’m trying to live by myself as a longtime fan of both Morrowind and Skyrim. After already waiting for over a decade, what’s a short while longer? There’s a lot to look forward to between Skywind and The Elder Scrolls 6, so I’m content.