ROCKVILLE, Md. — Bethesda Game Studios recently released “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered,” according to an announcement from the company. 

“The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered” is the result of a collaboration between Bethesda Game Studios and their partners at Virtuos, according to the announcement. This allowed Oblivion Remastered to remain faithful to the original vision, while giving it a visual overhaul and some modern refinements. 

“’Oblivion’ is the heart and soul of the Remaster,” Virtuos Executive Producer Alex Murphy wrote in the announcement.  

“Oblivion” continues to power all the gameplay and world logic, the announcement said. But to bring the “Oblivion” experience into 2025, it needed some modernizing, and that came in a few key places. 

The Remaster uses Unreal Engine 5’s suite of tools to enhance the visuals and performance, leading to stunning landscapes; more detailed character models and improved lip synching; and atmospheric effects that make the world of Cyrodiil feel more alive than ever, according to the announcement. 

“The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” debuted in 2006, according to the announcement, and immediately made a lasting impact on the gaming world. Bethesda Game Studios’ foundational open world role-playing game set the stage for nearly everything they have accomplished in the years since.  

“Oblivion” has been meticulously recreated from scratch, the announcement said. Characters, weapons, pieces of cheese, rocks, and even sweetrolls have been remade. On top of that, the advanced real-time lighting system accurately simulates how light interacts with the environment, resulting in more realistic atmospheric effects, the company wrote. 

In addition, the new character base meshes combined with the new lip sync technology enhance the dialogue performance of characters, giving them much more expressive faces – even with races that don’t look as human, like Khajiits and Argonians, according to the announcement. 

Players familiar with the original will recognize everything they see, the announcement said. But the teams at Bethesda Game Studio and Virtuos knew that gamers of today have certain expectations when it comes to an open world role-playing game. For example, sprinting was added to meet modern RPG standards. In fact, all character locomotion and models have been completely redone from scratch. Combat animations have been fully recreated, adding more flourish and separation between the upper and lower body. Combat also now includes sound effects, visual effects, and hit reactions, making it more engaging. 

Third-person perspective has been overhauled as well, according to the announcement. The third-person perspective now includes a crosshair and has been modernized to compare to Starfield, in terms of playability. 

in addition to refining gameplay, there have been tons of quality-of-life improvements to continue adding a modernized touch to 2006’s Game of the Year, the announcement said. The leveling system has been redesigned, inspired by both “Oblivion” and “Skyrim,” to offer the best of both worlds. Visual updates to UI and UX reflect contemporary gaming standards and hardware. New dialogue was also recorded for this Remaster. Where before some races shared voices, now each race represented in the game sounds unique, adding to the immersion. 

“The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered” is a love letter to fans of the original game, bringing modernized graphics, refined gameplay, and numerous quality-of-life improvements. 

“’Oblivion’ is considered a classic for a reason,” the company wrote. “So many people have fond memories of playing the original decades ago. Now, those same players can return to Cyrodiil and experience the magic all over again alongside a new generation of ‘Elder Scrolls’ fans. So, gear up, close shut the jaws of Oblivion and bring Tamriel back from the brink of destruction.”