"Remakes Key to Bethesda's Revival, Oblivion Shows"

By Azura, by Azura, by Azura – the rumors were true. Yesterday, Bethesda set the internet ablaze by finally unveiling Virtuos' remaster (or is it a remake?) of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. An 'Elder Scrolls Direct' event culminated in the surprise shadow-drop, which instantly saw hundreds of thousands of concurrent players. This moment of global hype and celebration feels like a much-needed port in the storm that Bethesda Game Studios has been weathering in recent years. From managing years-long damage control after Fallout 76’s rocky launch to the lukewarm reception of its new sci-fi universe, Starfield, the studio’s latest efforts have left many fans questioning: Has Bethesda lost its magic touch? The RPG landscape is more competitive than ever, with Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 and Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds series earning critical acclaim as spiritual successors to Elder Scrolls and Fallout. While Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 may still be years away from reclaiming their thrones, this re-release of Oblivion could be a step in the right direction – albeit not the one you might expect.

At its peak, Bethesda Game Studios was the undisputed leader in RPGs. In 2020, Microsoft’s leaked FTC documents revealed that Fallout 4 had sold 25 million units to date. According to VGChartz, the game sold over 5 million units in its first week alone. Similarly, in 2023, Todd Howard announced that Skyrim had surpassed 60 million sales (though multiple re-releases undoubtedly contributed to this figure). So, what about Starfield? Estimates suggest it sold just over three million units a year and a half after its launch. Considering Game Pass subscribers (which boost player numbers if not sales) and the absence of a PlayStation release, this number must be disappointing for Bethesda. Even Starfield’s dedicated fanbase, smaller than those of The Elder Scrolls or Fallout, has expressed dissatisfaction with the game’s first expansion, Shattered Space.

This situation presents a significant challenge for the developer. With The Elder Scrolls 6 "years away" and Fallout 5 merely a whisper in the studio's corridors, how can this once-iconic RPG developer recapture the hearts of its fanbase? The answer may lie in its past.

Rumors of the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster surfaced in September 2023, when leaked Microsoft documents revealed several unannounced Bethesda titles, including a remaster of the 2006 landmark trip to Tamriel (and another intriguing remaster – more on that later). The buzz remained quiet until January 2025, when a former Virtuos employee leaked further details, sparking debates among Elder Scrolls fans reminiscent of the Stormcloaks vs. the Imperials. Finally, last week the dam broke (albeit prematurely), igniting the internet – there were over 6.4 million Google searches for 'The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion', a 713% increase in the last week alone. At its peak, Bethesda's reveal livestream attracted over half a million viewers. Despite the leaks (or perhaps because of them), more than 600,000 people tuned in to see a 19-year-old game re-revealed. The intense demand to play the remaster caused discount game key websites like CDKeys to crash, and slowed Fanatical and Green Man Gaming to a crawl. As of yesterday, Steam’s concurrent players stood at 125,000, and the game is firmly the #1 best seller. The enthusiasm Bethesda fans have for Oblivion burns as bright as the flames spilling from the Oblivion gates themselves.

How can this once-iconic RPG developer enchant its fanbase once more? The answer lies in its past. The message from players is clear: if you (re)build it, they will come. What better way to keep fans engaged and invested during these long development periods than to invite them back to the mysterious isles of Morrowind or the post-apocalyptic landscapes of the East Coast? From a commercial perspective, this strategy makes perfect sense. While Bethesda’s main development team works on long-gestating new projects, trusted partners like Virtuos can use historical blueprints to create remasters in shorter time frames. These remasters target games with established audiences and introduce many to their first RPGs of their respective generations. Restoring these classics also invites a new generation to explore the intricate world of Tamriel or emerge from the post-apocalyptic fallout into Las Vegas and D.C.

Bethesda has already successfully leveraged its catalog before. During the first season of the Fallout TV show on Prime Video, Fallout 4 was discounted by up to 75%, accompanied by a timely next-gen update that included homages from the show. As a result, Fallout 4 sales surged over 7,500% in Europe alone, despite being nearly a decade old.

Oblivion Remastered offers a visit to the past that looks like the future. Image credit: Bethesda / Virtuos

Looking back at Microsoft’s leaked Bethesda roadmap, many noted that a Fallout 3 remaster was slated to follow Oblivion two years later. It's important to note that the timelines from the original presentation have shifted – Oblivion was originally slated for fiscal year 2022. However, if the original gaps remain consistent, a Fallout 3 remake could be on the cards for 2026 – coincidentally, just in time for Fallout Season 2. While a Fallout remaster now seems inevitable, given the second series’ focus on New Vegas, could it be possible that Bethesda's early discussions with showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet hint at a surprise New Vegas remake? Given the alignment of the show’s first season with Fallout 4’s vibe and aesthetic, could Bethesda enhance its strategy for the upcoming New Vegas-centric second season? It shadow-dropped Oblivion – it's not out of the realm of possibility that a New Vegas Remastered trailer awaits us at the end of Fallout Season 2's finale.

The message from players is clear: if you (re)build it, they will come. However, if there’s one game in Bethesda’s back catalog that deserves a remake the most, it’s undoubtedly The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Many Elder Scrolls fans have been advocating for this for years, with one group of superfans even remaking Morrowind using Skyrim’s tools, resulting in projects like Skyblivion. Yet, Morrowind is not as straightforward to remake as Oblivion. It sits at the crossroads of Bethesda’s evolution as a studio – it's literally constructed differently from our modern understanding of an Elder Scrolls game. It's only partially voiced, most of the story is conveyed through text, there are no quest markers (players must manually note directions given by NPCs, unless they have perfect memories), and combat physics are absent. While Virtuos was able to overhaul some of Oblivion’s more cumbersome systems, the entirety of Morrowind is a cumbersome system. This is why many adore the game, but it's also why it's challenging to remake. Remaking Morrowind is a delicate balancing act. Modernize it too much, and you risk losing the magic it was originally imbued with. Retain too many outdated systems, and it could feel worse than a severe skooma hangover.

When a studio becomes the icon of a gaming sub-genre, the challenge is this: how do you innovate and evolve while retaining your audience? Rockstar Games has kept Grand Theft Auto players engaged for over a decade through the ever-expanding multiplayer world of GTA Online, which in turn funds the rumored exorbitant budget for GTA 6. Bethesda’s core strength lies in richly detailed, expansive single-player worlds – Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 simply don't resonate in the same way. However, the overwhelming response to Virtuos’ Oblivion remaster demonstrates that gamers are eager to revisit the historic annals of Elder Scrolls from years past. That’s not to say any remaster is guaranteed success – this particular one is the result of careful consideration and skilled development, and a lesser game might have received a different reaction, as seen with Rockstar’s GTA Definitive Editions – but what better way for the former king of the modern RPG to regain its footing than by breathing new life into some cherished classics?