Here’s Why Bethesda Hasn’t Remastered Oblivion or Morrowind

Bethesda just doesn’t have the time to polish the old classics. 

Later this fall, Bethesda is treating us to a remastered version of one of last generation’s biggest games, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. 

This Special Edition will feature overhauled visuals like improved water and snow effects, as well as the ability to play mods on the PS4 and Xbox One version of the game. 

While this is all awesome, we almost would prefer if the previous Elder Scrolls titles, specifically III: Morrowind, and the awesome IV: Oblivion received a similar treatment. Both of these games hold up fairly well today, but they definitely could benefit from improved graphics. 

Well, sadly, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. 

In an interview with Gamespot, Bethesda marketing lead Pete Hines explained that upgrading Skyrim rather than the older Elder Scrolls games is just a better use of the team’s time. 

“Oblivion is 10 years old, so the amount of work for that engine and that tech to bring it and remaster it and do all the things we wanted to do was significant,” says Hines. “It’s not impossible, but it was mountainous. It was either like, go make an entire new game or do Skyrim.”

He also explained that more people would probably be interested in playing Skyrim again compared to the older games, as it still resonates with many gamers.  

“It just seemed to be a much closer path. It was the most successful game that we had ever done before Fallout 4, so it already had a huge audience.”

A bummer for sure, but we understand that remastering Oblivion or Morrowind would be a huge undertaking. Mods on the consoles have got us hyped for the remastered Skyrim, so that will have to do. 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition comes to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 28. 

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