"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 of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This surprise shadow-drop during an 'Elder Scrolls Direct' event instantly drew in hundreds of thousands of concurrent players, marking a pivotal moment of global excitement and celebration. This comes at a crucial time for Bethesda Game Studios, which has been navigating through turbulent waters in recent years. From the prolonged efforts to salvage Fallout 76’s rocky launch to the lukewarm reception of their new sci-fi venture, Starfield, fans have been questioning whether Bethesda has lost its touch. With fierce competition from RPGs like Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 and Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, which have been hailed as spiritual successors to Elder Scrolls and Fallout, Bethesda's upcoming titles, Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, are still years away. However, this re-release of Oblivion might just be the step in the right direction – albeit an unexpected one.

At its zenith, Bethesda Game Studios was the undisputed leader in the RPG genre. In 2020, leaked Microsoft FTC documents revealed that Fallout 4 had sold an impressive 25 million units, with over 5 million units sold in its first week alone, according to VGChartz. In 2023, Todd Howard announced that Skyrim had surpassed 60 million sales, though its numerous re-releases certainly played a role. In contrast, Starfield, despite being available on Game Pass and not on PlayStation, has only managed to sell just over three million units a year-and-a-half after its launch. Even its dedicated fanbase has expressed dissatisfaction with the game’s first expansion, Shattered Space.

This situation presents a significant challenge for Bethesda. With The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 still distant dreams, the question remains: how can this once-iconic RPG developer rekindle the magic for its fans? The answer may well lie in revisiting its storied past.

Rumors of the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster surfaced in September 2023, following leaked Microsoft documents that hinted at several unannounced Bethesda projects, including a remaster of the 2006 classic. The buzz continued until January 2025, when a former Virtuos employee leaked more details, sparking debates among Elder Scrolls fans about the authenticity of the information. The floodgates finally opened last week, with the internet erupting in excitement – Google searches for ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’ surged by 713% in the last week, reaching over 6.4 million. Bethesda’s reveal livestream peaked at over half a million viewers, and despite the leaks, more than 600,000 tuned in to witness the re-reveal of a 19-year-old game. The demand was so intense that it caused discount game key websites like CDKeys to crash, while Fanatical and Green Man Gaming struggled to keep up. As of yesterday, Steam reported 125,000 concurrent players, with the game topping the charts as the #1 best seller. The fervor for Oblivion among Bethesda fans is as intense as the flames that pour from the Oblivion gates themselves.

The message from players is clear: if you (re)build it, they will come. What better way to keep fans engaged during these long development cycles than to invite them back to the enchanting realms of Morrowind or the post-apocalyptic landscapes of the East Coast? From a business perspective, this strategy is a no-brainer. While Bethesda’s core team focuses on new, long-term projects, trusted partners like Virtuos can leverage existing blueprints to create remasters in a shorter timeframe. These remasters tap into established fanbases and introduce new generations to the rich worlds of Tamriel and the Fallout universe.

Bethesda has previously leveraged its catalog effectively. 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 incorporated elements from the show. As a result, Fallout 4 sales in Europe surged by over 7,500%, despite the game being nearly a decade old.

Looking back at Microsoft’s leaked Bethesda roadmap, many noted a planned Fallout 3 remaster slated to follow Oblivion two years later. Although the original timelines have shifted – Oblivion was initially slated for fiscal year 2022 – if the gaps between releases remain consistent, a Fallout 3 remake could be expected in 2026, coinciding with the second season of the Fallout TV show. Given the show’s first season's alignment with Fallout 4’s aesthetic, it’s conceivable that Bethesda might surprise fans with a New Vegas remake to complement the upcoming New Vegas-focused second season. After shadow-dropping Oblivion, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that a New Vegas Remastered trailer could be waiting 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 catalog that truly deserves a remake, it’s The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Fans have been clamoring for this for years, with some even remaking it using Skyrim’s tools, as seen in projects like Skyblivion. Yet, Morrowind poses unique challenges. It stands at the crossroads of Bethesda’s evolution, built differently from modern Elder Scrolls games. It’s only partially voiced, relies heavily on text for storytelling, lacks quest markers, and has simplistic combat physics. While Virtuos managed to refine some of Oblivion’s systems, Morrowind’s entire framework is a complex system. Its charm lies in its quirks, but remaking it is a delicate balance. Modernize it too much, and you risk losing its original magic; retain too many outdated elements, and it might feel like a relic.

When a studio becomes synonymous with a gaming sub-genre, the challenge is to innovate while retaining its audience. Rockstar Games has kept Grand Theft Auto fans engaged for over a decade with the ever-evolving GTA Online, which supports the massive budget rumored for GTA 6. Bethesda’s strength lies in its richly detailed, expansive single-player worlds – a quality that Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 have struggled to replicate. The overwhelming response to Virtuos’ Oblivion remaster demonstrates that gamers are eager to revisit Bethesda’s classic titles. However, not every remaster is guaranteed success – as seen with Rockstar’s GTA Definitive Editions. Yet, for Bethesda, breathing new life into its old classics could be the key to reclaiming its throne in the modern RPG landscape.