Rumours about a remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion finally came to a head yesterday when developer Virtuos accidentally uploaded a series of images on its official website, confirming the remake a little earlier than it had planned. Turns out that it’s actually officially titled The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and thanks to the leaks, we already have some details to digest. Here’s everything we know so far about the anticipated return of a classic RPG.
Even though Virtuos is calling it a remaster, all of the rumoured major changes and updates to both the visuals and gameplay suggests it’s more akin to a full-fledged remake. Oblivion originally launched back in 2006 from developer Bethesda Game Studios and takes place 200 years before Skyrim, following a large-scaled Daedric invasion of Tamriel by Mehrunes Dagon. Set within the Imperial province of Tamriel, players take on the role of a customisable hero who must fulfill a prophecy to end the invasion once and for all.
Developer and Engine
For those unaware, Oblivion Remastered is not being developed by Bethesda Game Studios (they’re quite busy with The Elder Scrolls 6, to be fair) but Virtuos, the developer behind the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. The studio also assisted in the development and ports of multiple familiar titles including Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Hogwarts Legacy and NieR Automata: End of Yohra Edition, among others.
As for the engine that the remaster is being built in, there’s nothing official yet though many early leaks suggest that it’s being created using Unreal Engine 5 with the Creation Engine as a blueprint.
Visual Upgrade
Oblivion Remastered seems to be a pretty big visual upgrade over the original game. Considering that the RPG is almost 20-years old, it makes sense for Virtuos to give it a decent graphical facelift. Judging by the leaked images, the familiar geography of Cyrodiil isn’t being changed too drastically. We’re getting sharper visuals, more detailed textures, higher-resolution character models, added particle effects and all the bells and whistles you’ve come to expect from remakes today.
Virtuos has since removed the images from its website, though users already managed to grab a handful of additional screenshots that you can view right here.
Leaked Details and Gameplay Updates
Based on seemingly credible information from MP1st, we have a list of leaked details and gameplay updates in Oblivion Remastered. Reddit user NinePointEight broke down the most significant improvements and tweaks reportedly coming to the remaster:
- The HUD – Meant to be easier to understand for new players.
- Stamina – Meant to be less frustrating and for players to be knocked down less when its depleted.
- Hit Reactions – Meant to improve combat on both the player and enemy side.
- Blocking – Meant to be “inspired by Souls-like games”.
- Sneaking – Meant to have sneak icons more highlighted.
- Archery – Meant to make it “modern” for third and first person play.
Release Date and Platforms
We previously reported on claims by reliable insider and journalist Jeff Grubb who stated that Oblivion Remastered would be announced and shadow dropped sometime next week. Further narrowing it down, Eurogamer‘s sources have also corroborated this information. No specific release date has been revealed yet but the remaster is closer to launch than we think.
Finally, it’s claimed that Oblivion Remastered will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The game is also reportedly set to launch day one on Xbox Game Pass.
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