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Skyblivion
Developer(s)TES Renewal Project, Rebelzize, and others
Initial release2025; 0 years ago (2025)
EngineCreation Engine
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
Available inEnglish
TypeRemake, total conversion, Action role-playing
Websiteskyblivion.com

Skyblivion is an upcoming open world action role-playing video game. It is a fan remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) developed in Bethesda Game Studios' Creation Engine as a total conversion mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011). It is scheduled to be released in 2025.

Gameplay

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See also: Gameplay of The Elder Scrolls series

Features

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In addition to re-creating what was previously in Oblivion and its DLC,[1] the developers are improving and expanding upon elements of the original game.[2][3] This includes the user interface (which is being done via a mixture of the SkyUI modification alongside bespoke Flash menus),[4] textures, environments,[5] cities,[6] dungeons, quests,[7][8] characters, weapons,[9] and clothing. They're also adding new content such as an expansion of the cities of Leyawiin and Anvil based on concept art from the original game,[10][11] goblin tribes,[12] and more music.[13]

Early Development (Direct Port)

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In 2012, Zilav, a modder and member of The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project began a project to port The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's assets into the Creation Engine (which was used to make Oblivion's sequel, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim). To do this, work was done on writing a tool to port the assets from Oblivion into the engine. However, technical limitations arose with the incompatibility of many files, resulting in broken or empty parts of the map, crashes, and bugs. The initial version of the project, 0.1, was released and onto internet forums. The eventual project lead, K. Rebel (also known as Rebelzize) retroactively called this build a "hot mess." In 2014, Zilav was joined by modder Monocleus, and they released a stable yet incomplete version of the project that would serve as the basis for further development.[4][14]

In May 2014, the team released version 0.2 of the project, which still required more help in areas such as visual asset creation, modeling, navmeshing, and voice acting.[15][16] At this point, a selection of mods together could be used to play a portion of the project.[17]

After K. Rebel joined to help the project with its PR, he pitched the idea of remaking Oblivion rather than converting the game assets. The idea was approved. By November 2016, Rebel sought help from other modders to help with work on the project. He also did so through Nexus Mods, a site that allows users to upload and download mods.[18] Rebel jokingly called it "the perfect pyramid scheme."[19]

Current Development (Remake)

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With Rebelzize at the helm, Skyblivion began work to shift the focus towards a proper remake of Oblivion in Skyrim's engine. To release Skyblivion, Bethesda required the project to fully replace 100% of all assets from the original to not redistribute their own proprietary content.

By 2018, Skyblivion as a remake was in full swing with multiple departments hard at working tackling the behemoth project. Despite having the entire world ported they still had to hand remake the entire landscape of the game which was largely procedurally generated in the original. Additionally, new improvements to the original game continued to be added as the project progressed. The cities of Leyawiin and Anvil were envisioned to follow early Oblivion concept art, all unique armors we're redesigned to be truly unique, new musical scores were added to complement the originals, and new improvements were made throughout the game.

According to Digital Trends, by November 2021, the volunteer team had over 40 members, including individuals who work for large game studios as well as hobbyists.[19] In an email to IGN, Rebel explained that their approach to development is similar to that of a AAA game.[10]

Marketing

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Developer Diary Series

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In 2020, Skyblivion welcomed popular Skyrim YouTuber Heavy Burns to the team to support the production of regular video content updates to inform fans of the project's progress and to help recruit new volunteers. Heavy Burns then recruited English voice actor Ryan J Cooper to lend his talents in narrating the new series. Shortly thereafter, on September, 26 2020 Skyblivion's Developer Diary Series launched with the first video of the series posted to Rebelzize's YouTube channel.

The launch of the new Developer Diary Series sparked a new era of growth and high recruitment for the project as the videos relatively high production value and professional presentation further cemented the project as one to be taken seriously. Since the initial release in 2020, an additional four Developer Diary episodes have been released garnering over 3,176,000 views on YouTube across the collection of videos. [20]

Trailers

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On December 9, 2016, Rebel uploaded a trailer titled "Skyblivion – Return To Cyrodiil."[21] The trailer resulted in more support, willing volunteers, and an increase in recognition.[4] This included more programmers and 3D artists.[19]

On January 15, 2023, the two-and-a-half-minute "Official Release Year Announcement Trailer" was uploaded to YouTube, where it was given a release date of 2025 at the latest. The trailer received a significant amount of coverage from news outlets such as Eurogamer,[22] NME,[23] Rock Paper Shotgun,[24] PC Gamer,[25] and GamesRadar+.[26]

Road Map Series

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As 2024 approached, one year from the targeted release year the Skyblivion team released "Oblivion Remastered Road to Release (Skyblivion Roadmap 2023)" on June 24, 2023 to transparently show the exact progress of the project and what further tasks needed to be completed before release. This video also offered another opportunity to drum up volunteers.

On December 31, 2024 Rebelzize published an updated roadmap "The Path To Release (Skyblivion Roadmap 2024)" to showcase the final remaining tasks before releasing in the next year.

Rebel also hosts livestreams on his channel, showing the development process of the game and answering questions from the viewers.[21]

Reception

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Pre-release reception

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The game has received positive responses leading up to the release, with critics calling the progress "impressive,"[27][28] "breathtaking,"[29][30][18] and "ambitious."[23][22] By April 2022, Preston Pearl of Screen Rant said that the game "looks much better" compared to the original game.[31]

It received spots on PC Gamer's "8 most ambitious Skyrim mods in development in 2022" list.[32] and number 8 on TheGamer's "Skyrim: Top 10 Anticipated Mods" list.[33]

It was awarded ModDB's "Best Upcoming Mod" in 2017.[34]

Further reading

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  • Morton, Lauren (April 15, 2021). "Skyblivion's new voice-acted trailer looks like an actual game". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  • Livingston, Christopher (March 24, 2022). "Skyblivion modders continue to torture us with incredible footage of their progress". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 17, 2023.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Donnelly, Joe (February 3, 2017). "Skyblivion mod to include Oblivion DLC, will be released for Skyrim: Special Edition". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  2. ^ Senior, Tom (November 2, 2018). "Beautiful, familiar scenery on show in Skyblivion video update". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  3. ^ Williams, Demi (January 19, 2023). "The Elder Scrolls Skyblivion Mod To Release By 2025". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Francis Docherty, Martin (August 21, 2021). "Tracing the Skyblivion Mod's Development Over the Years". GameRant. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Gach, Ethan (February 2, 2018). "Recreating Oblivion In Skyrim Means Paying Close Attention To Trees". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  6. ^ Livingston, Christopher (February 1, 2018). "New Skyblivion trailer shows Cyrodiil's Imperial City remade in Skyrim". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Livingston, Christopher (January 26, 2021). "New Skyblivion video shows progress with landscapes, caves, and working quests". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  8. ^ Morton, Lauren (January 27, 2021). "Skyblivion team shows off progress on implementing its 219 quests". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  9. ^ Troughton, James (March 25, 2022). "Skyblivion Shares "Huge Update" Featuring Bruma, Daedric Artifacts, And Goblins". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Skrebels, Joe (August 19, 2021). "Skyblivion: The Skyrim Mod Aiming to Make the Oblivion Bethesda Couldn't in 2006". IGN. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  11. ^ Smith, Graham (March 26, 2022). "After ten years of development, Skyblivion looks stunning". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  12. ^ Wood, Austin (March 25, 2022). "Full-fat Oblivion remake Skyblivion shows off revamped favorites as it eyes "the end of road"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Macgregor, Jody (April 15, 2021). "Skyblivion dev diary shows how far they've come". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Troughton, James (May 20, 2022). "The History Of Skyblivion As Told By Its Developers". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Good, Owen S. (May 18, 2014). "'Skyblivion' seeks to recreate The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion with Skyrim's engine". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 6, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  16. ^ Horth, Nick (May 19, 2014). "SKYBLIVION MOD RECREATES THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION IN SKYRIM ENGINE". Gamewatcher.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Hillier, Brenna (July 21, 2015). "Skyrim engine does wonders for Oblivion's Cyrodiil". VG247. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Ruppert, Liana 'Lili' (May 23, 2018). "Skyblivion Team Teases Even More Elder Scrolls Progress In New Video". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  19. ^ a b c Kratky, Otto (November 11, 2021). "With 9 years of work in danger, Skyrim modders still build castles in the sand". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  20. ^ "Rebelzize". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  21. ^ a b Gach, Ethan (December 10, 2016). "New Trailer Shows Skyblivion Fan Project Is Still Alive And Well". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  22. ^ a b Phillips, Tom (January 16, 2023). "Elder Scrolls fan project Skyblivion out 2025 "at the latest"". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Brown, Andy (January 16, 2023). "Ambitious 'Skyrim' mod 'Skyblivion' gets 2025 release window". NME. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  24. ^ Wheeler, CJ (January 16, 2023). "Oblivion-in-Skyrim mod Skyblivion gets a 2025 release window and new trailer". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  25. ^ Macgregor, Jody (January 15, 2023). "Skyblivion announces 2025 release date". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  26. ^ Ostler, Anne-Marie; Wood, Austin (January 17, 2023). "Oblivion's Skyrim remake will launch by 2025, or about 50 years before The Elder Scrolls 6". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  27. ^ Bailey, Dustin (August 12, 2021). "After years in development, Skyblivion is "still a ways out"". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  28. ^ Braz, Victor (August 15, 2019). "The Elder Scrolls Skyblivion trailer shows impressive fan-made remake of a classic". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  29. ^ Ruppert, Liana (October 20, 2020). "Ambitious Skyblivion Overhaul Mod Shares Impressive Journey With "How It Started" Meme". Game Informer. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  30. ^ Prince, Chloe (October 1, 2020). "Skyblivion Will Be The Answer To Our Elder Scrolls Prayers". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  31. ^ Pearl, Preston (April 13, 2022). "Skyrim's Skyblivion Mod Looks Even Better Than Oblivion". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  32. ^ Morton, Lauren (19 July 2022). "The 8 most ambitious Skyrim mods in development in 2022". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  33. ^ Burgar, Charles (January 25, 2020). "Skyrim: Top 10 Anticipated Mods". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  34. ^ Donnelly, Joe (3 January 2018). "ModDB names Brutal Doom Mod of the Year 2017, Skyblivion as Best Upcoming Mod". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
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