Skyrimis one of the bestselling games of all time. This fact will be no surprise to gamers, as the title has been released over a huge variety of platforms and systems. Whatever way someone wants to playSkyrim, they can. This has proved to be incredibly profitable for Bethesda, as officialSkyrimsales passed the 30 million mark in 2019. With the upcoming release of the 10th Anniversary Edition, these sales look to only increase. The decade of huge successSkyrimaccrued has cemented Bethesda as one of the dominant forces in triple-A gaming.
Todd Howard, Bethesda CEO andSkyrimdirector, was a driving force behind what became a culture-defining phenomenon of video games. Howard often takes point in games shows and expos when discussing Bethesda’s games and has talked a lot aboutSkyrimover the last ten years. In particular, Howard has discussed the game’s success on multiple occasions. According to Howard, the company keeps releasingSkyrimbecause people keep buying it. However, that might not actually be a good thing for the wider legacy of Bethesda games, past and present.
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Supply and Demand: Howard’s Skyrim Release Philosophy
In a2018 Geoff Keighly interviewcovered by GameIndustry.biz, Todd Howard said “millions of people every month are playing that game.” While it’s hard to get an exact estimate of that number, he might not be far off, as the 30 million copies ofSkyrimpresumably get played at some point. Howard remarked, “if you want us to stop releasing it, stop buying it.” WithSkyrimbeing one of the best-selling games ever, Howard’s philosophy makes some sense.
In some ways, it’s a basic tenet of the profit motive, if the game keeps selling, of course, Bethesda is going to want to remaster it. There are obviously notable benefits to re-releasing the game. Bethesda has often given players free upgrades to the newer versions of the game, as with theSkyrim: Special Editionreleased in 2016. It also allows the company to revamp a game that is ten years old but still enjoyed by so many people.
Furthermore, the fan community’s impact onSkyrimradically changed the game since its 2011 release, and new releases allow the company to acknowledge that. For example, the upcoming Anniversary Edition will include a pack of thebestSkyrimmods. Many of these substantially alter the base product, and it is excellent to see Bethesda acknowledging the impact that independent creators have had on its game.
Other Elder Scrolls Titles Deserve a Remaster
However, the hyper-focus on re-releasingSkyrim, unfortunately,leaves otherElder Scrollstitles to the wayside. Although these other games did not achieve the incredibly high profile ofThe Elder Scrolls 5, they are still undoubtedly influential on not onlySkyrimbut the wider fantasy RPG genre as a whole. Unfortunately, these games do not receive nearly the same love asSkyrim, even though they often featured deeper mechanical elements and some fantastic quests. In fact, it seems likeElder ScrollsandSkyrimfansalike agree that older Bethesda games deserve a bit more love.
The huge attention on the upcomingSkyrimmod Skyblivion goes a long way in demonstrating this. The mod’s official channel boasts over 14 million views, with its trailers for Skyblivion making up a large portion of that. The mod fully reimaginesMorrowindinsideSkyrim’s Creation Engine. The same has been done for other recreation mods like Skywind, and the even earlier Morroblivion (all the way back in 2008).
Fans coordinated these mods through extensive forum correspondence, even branching off from more centralElder Scrollsforums to create their own websites, and the TESRenewal project was born. It seems obvious, then, that there is a huge, undeniable excitement fromElder Scrollsfanstowards the older titles. However, ifSkyrimkeeps getting remastered every few years, these older titles might go without a proper remake or rerelease for a while.
It would be a shame for this to happen, as the older games have some brilliant moments that could influence future Bethesda titles. In fact, some of these older games are so good, thatactor James McAvoy got addicted toOblivion—showing the huge widespread appeal the older games in the series had. WhileSkyrimis a fantastic game for future Bethesda products to take notes from, having more contemporary remakes of the studio’s previous titles could have a great knock-on effect as well.
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Skyrim Could Dampen Future Bethesda Releases
Skyrimis Bethesda’s most popular title, and comparisons to it can often be difficult for other games to escape. Whenever a genre-defining game is released, it has a kind of gravitational pull when it comes to comparisons and evaluations.DOOMswitched up the gaming sphere so massively that FPS games were called “DOOM-likes” for a while, showing just how important landmark games can be.Skyrimhas become its own landmark game, with its 30 million copies sold providing it huge cultural weight. In fact, the game is so popular thatSkyrimmods likeThe Forgotten Citybecame their own video games. So, not only doesSkyriminfluence other games, but it also was fundamental in some great indie titles existing in the first place.
Many Bethesda fans have pondered ifStarfieldwill beSkyrimin space, with Todd Howard even confirming that DNA from Bethesda’s other games will make its way into the spacefaring adventure. As such, there are already astronomical expectations for a game that only has one official trailer and a release date. ComparingStarfieldto the studio’s bestselling game might well be vastly unfair, but Bethesda’sSkyrimrelease logic directly invites these comparisons.
If a company keeps releasing one game again and again, it is reasonable for fans to use it as a comparison point for future titles. If Bethesda games are ever to step out ofSkyrim’s admittedly impressive shadow, the logic towards re-releasing the game needs to change.
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