Skyblivion, the ambitious mod that looks to port and remaster The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion into the more-modern engine used by its sequel, Skyrim, is looking better than ever. The volunteer development team behind the project recently dropped a new 20-minute gameplay video highlighting two of the game’s side quests for fans to salivate over.
While Skyblivion will feature some original quests (with original voice acting), the two quests highlighted in the gameplay video are existing Oblivion quests, Fingers of the Mountain and Killing Fields. They are largely as fans remember, albeit with a new coat of paint thanks to the remastered visuals coming as part of the mod. One quest, the Killing Fields, rewards a powerful and unique sword, Chillrend. It is just one of the weapon quest rewards that has been remade in order to offer “more unique and diverse weapons throughout Skyblivion,” according to the video.
Described as the “ultimate fan-made experience,” Skyblivion looks to offer the best of what both Skyrim and Oblivion have to offer, according to the mod’s website. As such, Skyblivion will bring back gameplay systems seen in Oblivion–spell crafting, classes, underwater combat–and integrate them into Skyrim’s engine.
All of Oblivion’s items have been remade in the Skyrim engine, and there have additionally been updates to some of the game’s cities, dungeons, and forts with improved layouts and enemy encounters. While much of the game is a detailed and faithful recreation of Oblivion, there is some new content, including new quests, monsters, and a reimagined lockpicking minigame. Many of the game’s menus and UI are getting an overhaul to be more user-friendly, and many feature new artwork made to look right at home in the original game. There are even new pieces of region-specific music to “complement” Oblivion’s original soundtrack.
The project has been in the works for over a decade at this point, with work to port Oblivion to Skyrim’s engine beginning around the time Skyrim first launched. Remastering the game’s visuals began in 2016, and there are currently more than 80 volunteers working to see the project to completion, according to the project’s website.
Skyblivion is currently on track to release in 2025 for free. Once the mod is released, the team will work to address bugs and deliver updates requested by the community before beginning work on porting all of Oblivion’s DLC, including the Shivering Isles expansion, to Skyblivion.
Meanwhile, fans are still waiting for more news about The Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda, the game’s publisher, said last year that the project had only recently entered early development and that more news wouldn’t be coming anytime soon. Xbox boss Phil Spencer said around the same time that the next entry in the legendary RPG franchise was “five or more years away.”
