The long-rumored remake of Bethesda’s popular 2006 RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion continues to come into focus. Reporter Jeff Grubb of GameSpot sister site Giant Bomb offered an update on the project today during GameBreaking News, saying he expects the game to release soon.
In fact, Grubb said he expects Bethesda to shadowdrop the game “at any moment this month.” That means Bethesda would announce and release the game at or around the same time, it appears.
This tracks with previous rumors and reports that said Bethesda might announce and release the game close together, at some point in April. An earlier report said Bethesda was considering a June launch.
This wouldn’t be the first shadowdrop from Bethesda, as the company’s former Tango Gameworks team also announced and released Hi-Fi Rush on the same day.
Whatever the case, this update on the rumored Oblivion remake comes amid the 10th anniversary celebrations for another popular Elder Scrolls game, The Elder Scrolls Online. Now through April 22, ESO players can earn a variety of rewards and buffs as part of the celebration.
It’s been reported that Virtuous developed the apparent Oblivion remake, and that it was “fully remade” with Unreal Engine 5 and featuring a variety of re-worked gameplay systems. Some thought Microsoft and Bethesda would reveal an Oblivion remake during the Xbox Developer Direct in January, but that did not happen.
The rumor dates back to documents from the Microsoft vs. FTC case in 2023 concerning the Xbox company’s proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard. “Oblivion Remaster” was listed as an upcoming unannounced Bethesda game for release in financial year 2022. Obviously, that did not happen.
There is no word on potential platforms for the rumored Oblivion remake. While Bethesda is releasing some of its games on rival platforms, like this May’s Doom: The Dark Ages, Bethesda’s biggest game in recent times, Starfield, is still exclusive to Xbox and PC.
In addition to launching on PC, Oblivion was an Xbox exclusive on console when it debuted in 2006, before coming to PS3 in 2007. The open-world RPG is fondly remembered for its story and gameplay–and infamously for its horse armor, which was a prominent early example of DLC. Bethesda boss Todd Howard later reflected on the horse armor, saying “people will buy anything.”
While an official remake of Oblivion has yet to be announced, there is a fan-made Oblivion remake, Skyblivion, coming in 2025.
Bethesda followed up Oblivion with the enormously popular The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in 2011. Bethesda is now working on The Elder Scrolls VI, but there is no word yet on when it might be released.