Oblivion Remaster/Remake Coming?
According to a now deleted post a remake/remaster (it seems that’s somehow yet to be decided) of what was many peoples first Bethesda Game Studios style of RPG game is coming in the by 2025.
The post was made by a verified ex-employee of the studio alleged to be working on the project - Virtuos Studios and has since been deleted. Internally dubbed as the “Altar” project the game is alleged to be running original physics and gameplay code from the 2005 masterpiece, but all new graphics rendered in Unreal Engine five. The only other example I can really think of with a similar setup was the much-maligned “GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition” which was filled with bugs, as well as examples of the old games looking markedly better than the new “definitive” versions. This is at this stage still just a rumor, but with Bethesda’s QuakeCon only a few days away, and Xbox and Bethesda expected to have a very heavy presence at Gamescom leading up to the release of Starfield this could be a treat for those waiting on any tidbit about The Elder Scrolls VI.
Personally, I’d be interested in Bethesda going this route with other projects such as Morrowind, Fallout 3, New Vegas, or even re-releases of the original Fallout Games. While modders have done a wonderful job touching up many of these older titles, it would be great to see a little more love for the games that serve as the foundations for these beloved franchises.
As a side note, with both “Project Altar” and The Elder Scrolls Renewal Projects “Skyblivion” set to release in 2025 there could be some cannibalization between the projects. Skyblivion is a ground-up remake of Oblivion in Skryims Creation Engine, with new voice acting, fully scripted quest lines, and expansive environments, which has been almost a decade in the works along with its sister project, Skywind, which is a Morrowind remake in Skyrim’s engine. These passion projects are the kind of modding work that has landed some modders jobs at Bethesda Games Studios itself, and it would be a shame for the release of a remaster to take away from any of the well-earned glory the TES Renewal team has been working towards. Especially if “Project Altar” is anywhere near the mess of GTA Trilogy's definitive edition, or Virtuos’s last remaster The Outer Worlds Spacer’s Choice edition, which is still a buggier, more broken release than Obsidian Studios’ fallout-style space RPG from 2019.
When all is said and done it’s possible that Virtuos may release the definitive version of Oblivion, and I’m glad to see one of my favorite games ever getting some much-deserved love. I just hope it’s not a GTA Trilogy “Definitive” situation, and I am unsure how much faith I have in Virtuos. Only time will tell…
Or maybe not, because until we hear something official these are after all just rumors.
