''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' is an
action role-playing
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Bethesda Game Studios
Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was established in 2001 as the spin-off of Bethesda Softworks' development unit, with Bethesda Softworks itself ...
and published by
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited, and in 1999 became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In its ...
. It is the fifth main installment in ''
The Elder Scrolls
''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of Action role-playing game, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...
'' series, following 2006's ''
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'', and was released worldwide for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
, and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
on November 11, 2011.
The game is set 200 years after the events of ''Oblivion'', and takes place in Skyrim, the northernmost province of
Tamriel
''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of Action role-playing game, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...
. Its main story focuses on the player's character, the Dragonborn, on their quest to defeat Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon who is prophesied to destroy the world. Over the course of the game, the player completes quests and develops the character by improving skills. The game continues the open world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to travel anywhere in the game world at any time, and to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely.
''Skyrim'' was developed using the
Creation Engine
The Creation Engine is a 3D video game engine created by Bethesda Game Studios based on the Gamebryo engine. The Creation Engine has been used to create role-playing video games such as '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'', ''Fallout 4'', and ''F ...
, which was rebuilt specifically for the game. The team opted for a unique and more diverse
open world than ''Oblivion''s Imperial Province of Cyrodiil, which game director and executive producer
Todd Howard
Todd Andrew Howard (born 1970) is an American video game designer, director, and producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the ''Fallout'' and ''The Elder Scrolls'' s ...
considered less interesting by comparison. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise for its
character advancement, world design, visuals, dual-wielding combat, and soundtrack by
Jeremy Soule
Jeremy Soule (; born December 19, 1975) is an American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 60 games and over a dozen other works during his career, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ' ...
, and is widely regarded as
one of the greatest video games ever made. Criticism targeted the melee combat, dragon battles, and numerous technical issues present at launch. The game shipped over seven million copies within the first week of its release, and sold 30 million copies on all platforms by 2016, making it
one of the best-selling video games in history.
Three
downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
(DLC) add-ons were released—''
Dawnguard'', ''
Hearthfire'' and ''
Dragonborn''—which were bundled along with the base game into ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Legendary Edition'' and released in June 2013. A remastered version, ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition'', was released for Windows,
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
in October 2016, with all three DLC expansions and a graphical upgrade. A port for the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
was released in November 2017. A separate
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
-only version, ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR'', was released in November 2017 for PlayStation 4 using
PlayStation VR
The PlayStation VR (PS VR, known by its code name Project Morpheus during development) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016.
It is fully functional with the PlayStation 4 an ...
, and for Windows-based VR headsets in April 2018. In addition, the ''Special Edition'' was released on
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
and
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
as part of the compilation ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Anniversary Edition'' in November 2021, with a Nintendo Switch version of the compilation following in September 2022.
Gameplay
''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' is an
action role-playing game
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
, playable from either a
first- or
third-person perspective
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...
. The player may
freely roam over the land of Skyrim, an
open world environment consisting of wilderness expanses, dungeons, caves, cities, towns, fortresses, and villages.
Each city and town in the game world has jobs such as farming for the player to engage in.
Players may navigate the game world more quickly by riding horses, paying for a ride from a city's stable, or utilizing a fast-travel system that allows them to move their character immediately to a previously discovered location.
At the beginning of the game, players select their character's sex and
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, with 10 choices for the latter including races of humans and fantasy races such as
elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
and
orc
An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially ''The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugly, a ...
s. The player chooses the character's appearance; an in-game mechanic allows for changing the appearance later.
Characters have three primary attributes:
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
is how much damage the character can take before dying,
magicka is depleted to cast spells, and stamina allows the character to perform heavy "power attacks" or sprint. A status bar for each attribute appears onscreen when the attribute falls below its maximum value. Attributes regenerate over time and can be refilled faster by drinking potions or casting regenerative spells. Characters gain
experience
Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
indirectly, via leveling up
skills
A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of wo ...
. The 18 skills are divided evenly among the three schools of combat, magic, and stealth. Each skill has its own experience bar, which increases when the character performs an action in-game related to the skill. For example, crafting a dagger increases the Smithing skill, and dealing damage with a bow increases the Archery skill. When a skill's experience bar fills, the skill levels up and the bar is reset. After enough skills level up, the character levels up, enabling the player to increase the maximum value of one of the three attributes and providing a perk point. Perk points can be spent immediately on a skill-specific perk or stored for later use.
Non-player character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s (NPCs) populate the world; the player may engage them in conversation, marry predetermined ones, or engage them in lethal or nonlethal combat. As in previous games in the series, killing certain individuals can make some quests or items unobtainable. Certain NPCs essential to the narrative cannot be killed by the player, and will survive attacks of any magnitude. Committing a crime like murder or theft accrues the player a bounty if the crime is witnessed, leading to confrontations with guards. Depending on some factors, including how serious the crime was, the player can choose to go to jail, pay the guard off, persuade the witness to forget about it, declare that one is a Thane of a certain hold (which leads the guard to pardon the player), 'pacify' the guard or silence witnesses through killing them.
NPCs frequently offer the player side-quests; some have parameters adjusted based on nearby unexplored areas.
Some NPCs who are befriended or hired by the player may act as companions who will accompany the player and aid them in combat. A number of individuals have quests that the player needs to complete in order to gain their services as a companion. The player may choose to join factions, organized groups of NPCs—for example, the Dark Brotherhood, a band of assassins. Each of the factions has an associated quest path to progress through.
The player's effectiveness in combat relies on the use of weapons and armor (which may be bought, found from containers, raided from dead bodies, stolen and/or forged) and on the use of magic spells: similarly, spells may be bought, stolen and/or unlocked by finding spell tomes. Weapons, shields, and magic are assigned to each hand allowing for
dual-wield
Dual wielding is the technique of using two weapons, one in each hand for training or combat. It is not a common combat practice. Although historical records of dual wielding in war are limited, there are numerous Martial arts#Variation and scope, ...
ing, and can be swapped out through a quick-access menu of favorite items.
Some weapons and spells require both hands. Shields can be used to fend off enemy attacks and reduce incurred damage or offensively through bashing attacks. Blunt, bladed, and hacking weapons can be used in close combat and each have specific advantages and roles. Power attacks spend stamina to temporarily stun an enemy and deal increased damage. Spells have several functions, both in combat (e.g. damaging or confusing enemies, resurrecting dead bodies and conjuring other entities, restoring the player's health and/or stamina) and out (e.g. showing the way to an objective, illuminating a dark room or turning iron into silver).
Bows are used for long-range combat and can be used to bash enemies in melee combat. The player can enter sneak mode to pickpocket or deliver powerful sneak attacks to unsuspecting enemies.
When exploring the game world the player may encounter wildlife. Many creatures in the wilderness are immediately hostile towards the player, though some will run away.
''Skyrim'' is the first entry in ''
The Elder Scrolls
''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of Action role-playing game, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...
'' to include dragons in the game's wilderness. Like other creatures, dragons are generated randomly in the world and will engage in combat with NPCs, creatures and the player. Some dragons may attack cities and towns when in their proximity.
The player character can absorb the souls of dragons in order to use powerful spells called "dragon shouts" or "Thu'um". Each shout contains three words in the language spoken by dragons, and the strength of the shout will vary depending on how many words have been spoken. The words to shouts can be learned by visiting "word walls" in dungeons or around the wilderness. The words to each shout are unlocked for use by spending the absorbed souls of slain dragons.
A regeneration period limits the player's use of shouts in gameplay.
Synopsis
Setting
''Skyrim'' is set 200 years after the events of ''The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'', although it is not a direct sequel.
Skyrim is a cold and mountainous region in the north of the continent of Tamriel. It has traditionally been divided into nine administrative sections, called "holds", each governed by a
jarl
Jarl is a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. ''Jarl'' could also mean a sovereign prince. For example, the rulers of several of the petty k ...
from a larger town. Of these settlements, five—Solitude, Windhelm, Markarth, Riften, and Whiterun—are larger and more powerful. The landscape is littered with forts, camps, and ruins, some of which were built by the now-extinct race of the Dwemer, or Deep Elves. The Nords, one of the human races, view Skyrim as their homeland, though members of other races populate Skyrim as well.
Skyrim is a province of the much larger Empire, which comprises most of Tamriel. The Empire has recently fought a war with the elvish Aldmeri Dominion, who believe that they are
racially superior to humans. While the conflict, known as the Great War, ended in a military stalemate after a hard-fought battle at the imperial capital, the greatly weakened Empire was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty called the White-Gold Concordat.
While most of Tamriel worship a religious pantheon of eight deities, the Nords of Skyrim are accustomed to worshiping a ninth god, Talos, the
deified
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term ha ...
Nord general who founded the Empire. The Dominion, led by the intolerant Thalmor sect, rejects this notion and its implication that a man became greater than any elf. They instituted a clause in the Concordat forbidding Talos worship in the Empire. Motivated in part by this condition, Ulfric Stormcloak, the jarl of Windhelm, leads a rebellion against imperial rule, with the holds divided roughly evenly between the two sides.
In the ancient past, dragons ruled over vast swaths of Tamriel. Their hegemony was overthrown when three human warriors threw the dragon ruler, Alduin, forward in time using an Elder Scroll, a powerful and mysterious artifact. When ''Skyrim'' begins, the survival of the last dragon, the sage Paarthurnax, is a secret kept by an order of monks called the Greybeards. Within their monastery atop the Throat of the World, Skyrim's highest mountain, the Greybeards dedicate their lives to the Way of the Voice, a discipline for powerful draconic spells called "shouts". Rare warriors are "Dragonborn", having the ability to learn shouts intuitively by absorbing the souls of dead dragons. Ancient prophecy maintains that Alduin will return to consume the world, and a "Last Dragonborn" will defeat him.
Characters
The player character is Dragonborn and is typically referred to as such. The Dragonborn can be male or female, from one of ten races. Each of the ten races has, in addition to a bonus for certain skills, a power specific to their race - for example, Nords start with a bonus to several martial skills, and the ability to intimidate enemies for a short period. The player can recruit one NPC at a time as a follower, who can travel and fight with the Dragonborn; there are forty-five available followers in the base game, with thirteen more added in the
downloadable
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...
expansions.
Outside of followers and Alduin, the primary antagonist, NPCs prominent to the plot of ''Skyrim'' include Balgruuf, Jarl of Whiterun, a town in the center of Skyrim; Arngeir, the leader of the Greybeards; Delphine and Esbern, two of the last members of the Blades, an order of warriors sworn to help the Dragonborn but nearly wiped out after the Great War; and Paarthurnax, the last surviving dragon and grandmaster of the Greybeards. Also notable are Ulfric and General Tullius, who command the Stormcloaks and Imperial Legion respectively. During the course of the game, the Dragonborn can join and assist either side to gain victory in the civil war. Other factions that the Dragonborn can elect to join include the Companions, a noble order of warriors; the College of Winterhold, an institution dedicated to the mystic arts and magic; the Thieves Guild, a league of burglars who have fallen on hard times; and the Dark Brotherhood, a fellowship of assassins.
Plot
Imperial soldiers have captured Ulfric Stormcloak and are preparing to execute him, along with the player who was caught up in the skirmish and mistakenly believed to be a rebel. Before the player can be executed, Alduin appears, attacking the imperial outpost and thus rescuing the player. The player escapes and warns Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun of the dragon attack. When another dragon attacks and is slain, the dragon's soul flows into the player character, causing the nearby guards to call them "Dragonborn". The Greybeards summon the Dragonborn to the Throat of the World, where the Dragonborn begins training in the Way of the Voice.
Delphine intercepts the Dragonborn on a training quest and arranges for the Dragonborn to infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy in Solitude, on the (mistaken) suspicion that the Thalmor are responsible for the dragon attacks. There, they learn that Esbern, a Blades lore master obsessed with the prophecy of Alduin's return, is alive and hiding in Riften. The Dragonborn rescues Esbern from Thalmor agents. Esbern leads them to an ancient Blade temple and a massive engraving depicting Alduin's prior defeat. Esbern deciphers that the ancient Nords used a special shout to remove Alduin's ability to fly and render him vulnerable.
Arngeir does not know the shout, which is called Dragonrend and violates the Way of the Voice. Arngeir sends the Dragonborn to Paarthurnax at the summit of the Throat. Paarthurnax reveals that no one living knows Dragonrend, but theorizes that the Dragonborn could learn it by looking through time at the summit, the site of Alduin's banishment. To do this, the Dragonborn retrieves the Elder Scroll used in the banishment from a massive subterranean Dwemer city. The Dragonborn returns to the summit and learns Dragonrend. Alduin attacks. The Dragonborn uses Dragonrend, and together with Paarthurnax overpowers Alduin, who flees.
The Dragonborn's allies hatch a plan to capture a dragon at Whiterun. The Dragonborn helps negotiate a truce in the civil war to prevent either side from capturing Whiterun during this delicate operation. The captured dragon, Odahviing, questions whether Alduin deserves lordship over dragons. He reveals that Alduin has gone to recover his strength in Sovngarde, the Nord afterlife, where he feeds on the souls of the dead. Since the portal to Sovngarde cannot be reached on foot, Odahviing bargains his freedom in exchange for flying the Dragonborn there. Entering Sovngarde, the Dragonborn meets the three heroes who had defeated Alduin originally. With their help, the Dragonborn kills Alduin and returns to Skyrim.
Development
Having completed work on ''Oblivion'' in 2006,
Bethesda Game Studios
Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was established in 2001 as the spin-off of Bethesda Softworks' development unit, with Bethesda Softworks itself ...
began work on ''
Fallout 3
''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
''. It was during this time that the team began planning the next entry in ''
The Elder Scrolls
''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of Action role-playing game, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...
'' series. From the outset, they had decided to set the new game in the land of Skyrim, incorporating dragons into the main theme of the game.
Full development began following the release of ''Fallout 3'' in 2008; the developers considered ''Skyrim'' a
spiritual successor
A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...
to both ''Fallout 3'' and previous ''The Elder Scrolls'' games.
The game was developed by a team of roughly 100 people composed of new talent as well as of the series' veterans.
The production was supervised by
Todd Howard
Todd Andrew Howard (born 1970) is an American video game designer, director, and producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the ''Fallout'' and ''The Elder Scrolls'' s ...
, who has been the director of several titles released by Bethesda Softworks.
Design
The team set the game in the province of Skyrim, designing it by hand. While similar in size to ''Oblivion''s game world of Cyrodiil, the mountainous topography of the world inflates the game space and makes it more difficult to traverse than Cyrodiil, which was relatively flat.
In designing ''Skyrim''s world, the team opted for a different approach to what was taken with ''Oblivion''; art director Matt Carofano considered the "epic-realism" of ''Skyrim''s world design as a departure from ''Oblivion''s generic representation of classic European fantasy lore.
Howard expressed the team's desire to re-encapsulate the "wonder of discovery" of ''
Morrowind
''The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' is an open world, open-world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the third installment in the ''The Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls'' ser ...
''s game world in ''Skyrim'', as the return to the classic fantasy of ''
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
'' and ''
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall'' in ''Oblivion'' meant sacrificing a world with a unique culture.
As a way of creating diversity, the team divided the world into nine sectors, known as holds, and attempted to make each hold feel topographically unique from one another; in addition, the team wanted to reflect the socioeconomic background of the NPCs by making some locations elaborate and wealthy while others are poorer and lower-tech.
The team sought to make each of the game's ten races feel unique; Howard considered the player's choice of race at the beginning of the game a more important decision than it had been in previous ''The Elder Scrolls'' games because the culture of ''Skyrim''s world contains more racism. However, he reiterated that the player's choice of race does not have major game-affecting consequences as it adds "flavor" in different NPCs' dispositions towards the player, and is not meant as a way of locking players out of particular quests.
[ Efforts to make ''Skyrim''s world feel hand-crafted extended to the team abandoning the use of generated landscapes as they had done in ''Oblivion''. While just one team member was charged with designing dungeons in ''Oblivion'', ''Skyrim''s 150 dungeons were designed by a group of eight people.] ''Skyrim'' features 244 quests, over 300 points of interest with a map marker and numerous unmarked locations.
Engine
''Skyrim'' is powered by Bethesda's Creation Engine, forked from the ''Fallout 3
''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
'' codebase specifically for ''Skyrim''. After ''Fallout 3''s release, the team devised numerous design objectives to meet for ''Skyrim'', and according to Howard, the team "got all those done and kept going". Had the team not been able to meet their design goals with seventh generation of video game consoles
The seventh generation of home video game consoles began on November 22, 2005, with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 home console. This was followed by the release of Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006, and Nint ...
, they would have waited for the next generation and released ''Skyrim'' then, but Howard felt that the technology of the time did not hold the team back at all.[ The Creation Engine allows for numerous improvements in graphical fidelity over Bethesda's previous efforts. For example, the ]draw distance
In computer graphics, draw distance (render distance or view distance) is the maximum distance of objects in a three-dimensional scene that are drawn by the rendering engine. Polygons that lie beyond the draw distance will not be drawn to the ...
renders farther than in previous ''The Elder Scrolls'' games; Howard provided an example where the player can stare at a small object such as a fork in detail, and then look up at a mountain and run to the top of it. Dynamic lighting allows shadows to be created by any structure or item in the game world, and the Creation Engine allowed for greater detail in flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
production than SpeedTree
SpeedTree is a group of vegetation programming and modeling software products developed and sold by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV) that generates virtual foliage for animations, architecture and in real time for video games and dema ...
had in previous Bethesda games. For example, with Bethesda's own technology, developers were able to give weight to the branches of trees, which affects how trees blow in the wind. In addition, the technology allows wind to affect the flow of water in channels such as rivers and streams. Because of the large presence of snow in ''Skyrim''s game world, the technological upgrades were applied to weather effects and allow for dynamic snowfall upon the terrain, instead of snow that was rendered as a textural effect in previous games.[
The team used Havok's Behavior toolset for character animation, which allows for a greater fluidity between the character's movements of walking, running and sprinting, and also increases the efficiency of the third-person camera option, which had been criticized in ''Oblivion''.][ The toolset allows interactions between the player and NPCs to take place in ]real time
Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...
; in ''Oblivion'', when the player went to interact with an NPC, time would freeze and the camera would zoom in on the NPC's face. In ''Skyrim'', NPCs can move around and make body gestures while conversing with the player. Children are present in the game, and their presence is handled similarly to ''Fallout 3'' in that they cannot be harmed by the player in any way, since depictions of violence involving children in video games are controversial. ''Skyrim'' uses the Radiant AI The Radiant AI is a technology developed by Bethesda Softworks for ''The Elder Scrolls'' video games. It allows non-player characters (NPCs) to make choices and engage in behaviors more complex than in past titles. The technology was developed for ...
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
system that was created for ''Oblivion'', and it has been updated to allow NPCs to "do what they want under extra parameters". The updated system allows for greater interaction between NPCs and their environments; NPCs can perform tasks such as farming, milling, and mining in the game world, and will react to each other.
Audio
The team employed Jeremy Soule
Jeremy Soule (; born December 19, 1975) is an American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 60 games and over a dozen other works during his career, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ' ...
to compose the music for ''Skyrim'', who previously worked on ''Morrowind
''The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' is an open world, open-world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the third installment in the ''The Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls'' ser ...
'' and ''Oblivion
Oblivion may refer to:
Film
* ''Oblivion'' (1994 film), an American space Western
* ''Oblivion'' (2013 film), an American post-apocalyptic science fiction film
Literature
* ''Oblivion'' (''Power of Five''), a 2012 novel by Anthony Horowitz
* ...
''. The game's main theme " Dragonborn" was recorded with a choir of over 30 people singing in the fictional dragon language. Creative director Todd Howard
Todd Andrew Howard (born 1970) is an American video game designer, director, and producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the ''Fallout'' and ''The Elder Scrolls'' s ...
envisioned the theme for ''Skyrim'' as ''The Elder Scrolls'' theme sung by a choir of barbarians. This became a reality when the idea was passed by Soule, who recorded the 30-man choir and layered three separate recordings to create the effect of 90 voices. Bethesda's concept artist Adam Adamowicz
Adam Adamowicz (March 9, 1968 – February 9, 2012) was an American video game concept artist, best known for his work on ''The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'', ''Fallout 3'', and ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' at Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Sof ...
created the Draconic language, and also developed a 34-character runic alphabet for the game. He expanded the lexicon of Draconic as needed; Bruce Nesmith
Bruce Nesmith is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He was Creative Director at TSR, working on a variety of games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and is a senior game designer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he ha ...
explained that words were introduced to the lexicon every time that the studio "wanted to say something".
Bethesda released four audio CDs along with the game on November 11, 2011. The soundtrack to ''Skyrim'' is sold via Jeremy Soule's distributor DirectSong, and Soule autographed all physical copies ordered via DirectSong. "Day One" pre-orders from Amazon.de
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econ ...
also included a five-track promotional ''Skyrim'' soundtrack sampler. A digital version of the soundtrack was released via iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on January 31, 2013.
The voice-overs in the game included more than 70 actors and over 60,000 lines of dialogue. Casting director and production supervisor Timothy Cubbison
Timothy Cubbison is an American producer, director, writer and casting director, best known for the video games ''Fallout 4'', '' Life Is Strange'' and ''Rise of the Tomb Raider''. He is credited on over 50 titles including four BAFTA winners, ...
worked with Bethesda to evaluate auditions and oversee the recordings. The full cast consisted of three Academy Award nominees and several other high-profile actors including Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
, Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
, Joan Allen
Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956) is an American actress. She began her career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1977, won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for ''And a Nightingale Sang'', and won the 1988 Tony Awa ...
, Michael Hogan, and Vladimir Kulich
Vladimir Kulich (born 14 July 1956) is a Czech-Canadian actor.
He is known for his roles as Buliwyf in the film ''The 13th Warrior'', Tiberius in the film ''Ironclad'', Erik in the television series ''Vikings'', as well as the voice of Ulfri ...
.[
]
Marketing and release
''Skyrim'' was announced at the Spike Video Game Awards
The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 to 2013 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by ...
on December 11, 2010; Howard appeared onstage during the awards and presented the announcement trailer, which introduced the game's story and revealed its "11–11–11" release date. It was the cover story for the February 2011 issue of the ''Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' magazine, wherein journalist Matt Miller wrote a fifteen-page article that revealed the first details about the game's story and gameplay. Asked about downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
(DLC) packages in a June 2011 interview, Howard expressed the team's intention to release DLC packages, having done so for previous releases; he revealed that it was the team's goal to release a lower number of DLC packages that were larger in content than those released for ''Fallout 3'', as he felt that releasing a larger number of low-content packages was "chaotic". Via a press release, the team announced that the first two planned DLC packages would release on the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live
The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...
a month ahead of PCs and the PlayStation 3. At the 2011 QuakeCon
QuakeCon is a yearly convention held by ZeniMax Media to celebrate and promote the major franchises of id Software and other studios owned by ZeniMax. It includes a large, paid, bring-your-own-computer ( BYOC) LAN party event with a competitive ...
conference, the team unveiled ''Skyrim''s collector's edition package. Bundled with a copy of the game is a map of the game world, a 12-inch figurine of Alduin, as well as a 200-page concept art book and a DVD feature about the making of ''Skyrim''.
In October 2011, pictures of many pages of the manual of the game were leaked, later followed by footage from the introduction, revealing some more details. By November 1, 2011, a copy of the Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
version had been leaked and made available through the Internet, allowing those with a hacked Xbox 360 to play ''Skyrim'' 10 days before its release. In the Netherlands, the game was made available for purchase on November 7. On November 10, stores in Australia began selling the game ahead of its November 11 release date.
Remastered version
On June 4, 2016, Bethesda announced ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition'', a remaster for the PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
, Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
and Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. It was released on October 28, 2016. Windows players who owned the original game and all of its downloadable content on Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
were offered the ''Special Edition'' for free. The remastered version contains an upgraded game engine as well as numerous graphical enhancements, along with mod support on consoles. A DRM
DRM may refer to:
Government, military and politics
* Defense reform movement, U.S. campaign inspired by Col. John Boyd
* Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a former socialist state (1975–1992) on Madagascar
* Direction du renseignement militai ...
-free version of the ''Special Edition'' was released on the GOG.com
GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...
platform on September 29, 2022.
Other versions
In October 2016, the reveal trailer for Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
featured gameplay of ''Skyrim'' on the console. At the time, it was reported that Bethesda only used the game for the reveal trailer and that it was not officially releasing on the Nintendo Switch. On January 13, 2017, Todd Howard confirmed that the game will come out on the Nintendo Switch, making it the first Bethesda title to be released on a Nintendo platform for a Nintendo home console since ''Home Alone
''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hear ...
'' for the NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
in 1991. During Bethesda's E3 2017
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 (E3 2017) was the 23rd E3, during which hardware manufacturers and software developers and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers a ...
showcase, it was revealed that the Nintendo Switch version will support Amiibo
(, ; officially stylized as amiibo; plural: ''Amiibo'') is a toys-to-life platform by Nintendo, which was launched in November 2014. It consists of a wireless communications and storage protocol for connecting figurines to the Wii U, Ninten ...
and the Joy-Con
Joy-Con are the primary game controllers for the Nintendo Switch video game console. They consist of two individual units, each containing an analog stick and an array of buttons. They can be used while attached to the main Nintendo Switch cons ...
motion control
Motion control is a sub-field of automation, encompassing the systems or sub-systems involved in moving parts of machines in a controlled manner. Motion control systems are extensively used in a variety of fields for automation purposes, includi ...
s.
At E3 2017
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 (E3 2017) was the 23rd E3, during which hardware manufacturers and software developers and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers a ...
, Bethesda announced a PlayStation VR
The PlayStation VR (PS VR, known by its code name Project Morpheus during development) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016.
It is fully functional with the PlayStation 4 an ...
version of ''Skyrim'' for release in November 2017. A standalone VR port of the game was released for Windows on April 2, 2018, supporting the HTC Vive
VIVE, sometimes referred to as HTC Vive, is a virtual reality brand of HTC Corporation. It consists of hardware like its titular virtual reality headsets and accessories, virtual reality software and services, and initiatives that promote appl ...
, Oculus Rift
Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016.
In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...
, and Windows Mixed Reality
Windows Mixed Reality is a platform introduced as part of the Windows 10 and 11 operating system, which provides augmented reality and virtual reality experiences with compatible head-mounted displays.
Its flagship device, Microsoft HoloLens, wa ...
headsets.
A parody of ''Skyrim''s numerous ports and re-releases, titled ''Skyrim: Very Special Edition'' was released by Bethesda at their E3 2018
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 (E3 2018) was the 24th E3, during which hardware manufacturers, software developers, and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers a ...
press conference for Amazon Alexa
Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant technology largely based on a Polish speech synthesiser named Ivona, bought by Amazon in 2013. It was first used in the Amazon Echo smart speaker and the Echo Dot, Echo Studio and ...
, stating it would be also released for the Etch A Sketch
Etch A Sketch is a mechanical drawing toy invented by André Cassagnes of France and subsequently manufactured by the Ohio Art Company. It is now owned by Spin Master of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
An Etch A Sketch has a thick, flat gray screen i ...
, Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
pagers
A pager (also known as a beeper or bleeper) is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response pagers and two-way pagers can also acknow ...
and Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
smart refrigerators. The Alexa version was found to be a legitimate version of the game developed by Bethesda, playing off the joke that the studios had seemingly ported ''Skyrim'' to all possible platforms following its E3 2017 announcements.
Compilations
A compilation package called ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Legendary Edition'' was released on June 4, 2013. It contains the version 1.9 patch and the three expansions, along with the main game.
As part of Skyrim's 10th anniversary celebration, another compilation titled ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Anniversary Edition'' was released in November 2021 for Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
, PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
, PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
, Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
and Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
. It includes all the content from ''Special Edition'', over 500 Creation Club elements, and introduces the ability to fish and player-owned aquariums. ''Anniversary Edition'' was released for the Nintendo Switch on September 29, 2022. A DRM
DRM may refer to:
Government, military and politics
* Defense reform movement, U.S. campaign inspired by Col. John Boyd
* Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a former socialist state (1975–1992) on Madagascar
* Direction du renseignement militai ...
-free version of the ''Anniversary Edition'' was released on the GOG.com
GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...
platform on September 29, 2022.
Related games
While ''Skyrim'' was being ported to next-generation systems, Zen Studios
Zen Studios is a Hungarian video game developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software with headquarters in Budapest, Hungary and offices in the United States. It is known for its game franchises, ''Pinball FX'' and ''Zen Pinball'', a ...
developed a virtual pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
adaptation of the game as part of the ''Bethesda Pinball'' collection, which became available as part of ''Zen Pinball 2
''Zen Pinball 2'' is a pinball video game developed by Zen Studios for the Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Android, and PlayStation Vita. The game was announced on April 9, 2012. The first PlayStation versions were released on September 4, 20 ...
'', ''Pinball FX 2
''Pinball FX 2'' (stylized as ''Pinball FX2'') is a pinball video game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows ( XP and higher) and is the sequel to '' Pinball FX''. It was developed by Zen Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. It was ...
'' and ''Pinball FX 3
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
'', as well as a separate free-to-play
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
app for iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and Android mobile devices. A ''Skyrim'' themed expansion for the digital collectible card game
A digital collectible card game (DCCG) or online collectible card game (OCCG) is a computer or video game that emulates collectible card games (CCG) and is typically played online or occasionally as a standalone video game. Many DCCGs are types ...
'' The Elder Scrolls: Legends'', titled ''Heroes of Skyrim'', was released on June 29, 2017.
Additional content
Expansions
'' Dawnguard'' was the first downloadable add-on for ''Skyrim'', revolving around a battle between the Dawnguard and Clan Volkihar. The Dawnguard are a band of vampire hunters who rely on the use of crossbow
A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...
weapons in their pursuit against Clan Volkihar, a family of vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s. Early in ''Dawnguard''s quest line, players must choose which of the two factions to join forces with. ''Dawnguard'' adds new content to the game, including weapons, spells, and armor, and expands the abilities afforded to players who choose to become either a vampire or a werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
. It adds two new areas to explore outside of the mainland of Skyrim: the Soul Cairn (a plane of the realm of Oblivion) and the Forgotten Vale (a secluded glacial valley). ''Dawnguard'' released on the Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
in English-speaking territories on June 26, 2012, and in European countries in mid-July 2012. It was released for Windows on August 2, 2012, via the digital distribution
Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content (media), content such as Sound recording and reproductio ...
platform Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
. Performance issues on the PlayStation 3 hampered ''Dawnguard''s release on that platform. It was released on the PlayStation 3 on February 26, 2013, in North America, and on February 27, 2013, in Europe.
'' Hearthfire'' was ''Skyrim''s second add-on, which allows players to build houses and adopt children. Three plots of land are added to the game world which players can purchase. Once land is purchased, players build a small basic house, then select rooms to add on. The house and its additions are built from raw materials such as lumber and clay, which can be gathered or purchased. Players may adopt up to two children and have them live in the home, along with the player's spouse. ''Hearthfire'' was released for the Xbox 360 on September 4, 2012, and for Windows on October 4, 2012. It was later released for PlayStation 3 on February 19, 2013, in North America, and February 20, 2013, in Europe.
'' Dragonborn'' is the third and final add-on for ''Skyrim''. It revolves around the player character's efforts to defeat Miraak, the first Dragonborn who has become corrupted and seeks to control the world. The add-on takes place on Solstheim, an island northeast of Skyrim which is presented as an open world. It adds content to the game and allows players to ride on the backs of dragons, along with other shouts that can be learned from Solstheim. ''Dragonborn'' was released for the Xbox 360 on December 4, 2012, for Windows on February 5, 2013, and for PlayStation 3 on February 12, 2013.
In April 2013, Bethesda announced via their blog that they were "moving on" from ''Skyrim'' and preparing to work on other projects. They added that they would only be releasing "minor updates" for the game.
Community content
A wide variety of official and fan-created mods, short for modifications, are available for ''Skyrim'', which are generally made using the packaged Creation Kit. These mods are distributed freely on file-sharing sites such as Nexus Mods
Nexus Mods is a site which allows users to upload and download " mods" (modifications) for computer games. It acts as a source for the distribution of original content. It is one of the largest gaming modification websites on the web, and, as o ...
, and are aggregated via the Steam Workshop's controlled content distribution mechanism. The mods may include features such as better game stability, improvements and tweaks of gameplay features, significantly enhanced visuals, overhauled weather systems, new characters and locations, user interface updates, and more.
The first ''Skyrim'' modification was ''The Fall of the Space Core, Vol. 1'', created by Bethesda in collaboration with Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
. It causes a fictional device known as the Space Core from Valve's video game ''Portal 2
''Portal 2'' is a 2011 puzzle-platform video game developed by Valve Corporation, Valve for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The digital PC version is distributed online by Valve's Steam (service), Steam service, while al ...
'' to fall from the sky and land where the player can recover it. The Space Core acts as a non-player character voiced by Nolan North
Nolan North (born October 31, 1970) is an American actor best known for his voice acting roles.
After his breakthrough role as Dr. Chris Ramsey on the ABC soap opera ''Port Charles'' in 1997, North moved into voice acting when the show ended i ...
which follows the player around the world of Skyrim and dispenses space-related comments.
'' Enderal: The Shards of Order'' is a total conversion mod of ''Skyrim'' developed by SureAI
SureAI is a German team of video game developers, best known for creating several mod (computer gaming)#Total conversion, total conversion mods of Bethesda Softworks' ''The Elder Scrolls'' and ''Fallout (series), Fallout'' series.
SureAI has rel ...
as a sequel to '' Nehrim: At Fate's Edge'' which was developed for ''Oblivion''. It was released in July 2016, initially in German only. An English version was released August 16, 2016. A 2015 mod entitled ''The Forgotten City
''The Forgotten City'' is a mystery adventure role-playing game developed by Australian developer Modern Storyteller and published by Dear Villagers with additional support from Film Victoria. It is a full video game adaptation of the criticall ...
'' was later adapted into a full standalone game and released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2021.
Reception
''Skyrim'' received critical acclaim upon release. The removal of the character class
In tabletop games and video games, a character class is a job or profession commonly used to differentiate the abilities of different game characters.
In role-playing games (RPGs), character classes aggregate several abilities and aptitudes, ...
system, present in previous ''The Elder Scrolls'' entries, was well received. Billy Shibley of Machinima
Machinima, originally machinema () is the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation. The word "machinima" is a portmanteau of the words ''ma ...
's Inside Gaming and Charles Onyett of ''IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' praised its removal because it allowed players to experiment with different skills without having to make decisions about a class early in the game. John Bedford of ''Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' stated that by removing the character class system, the game tailored itself to players who wanted to build an all-around character, while still letting other players specialize in a preferred play-style. Steve Butts of '' The Escapist'' considered the addition of perks to the character advancement system "a great method to make your character feel even more unique and personal". Kevin VanOrd of ''GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' praised the way perks allowed for the player's preferred skills to become more powerful over time, stating that the perk system "forms around the way you play, but allows for tweaking so that you retain a sense of control". The user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
was also praised by reviewers for its accessibility;[ Bedford complimented its "elegant design" which succeeded ''Oblivion''s comparatively complex interface.][
The art style of the game world drew acclaim from many reviewers, who welcomed the departure from ''Oblivion''s Cyrodiil. ]Jason Schreier
Jason Schreier (born May 10, 1987) is a journalist and author who primarily covers the video game industry. He worked as a news reporter for ''Kotaku'' from 2011 to 2020 and was recognized for several investigative stories, particularly on the ...
of ''Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'' described the land of Skyrim as a "Viking-inspired treasure trove of flavor and charm", noting its contrast to Cyrodiil, which he considered generic by comparison. The Staff at ''Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' magazine described Cyrodiil as a "patchwork of varying terrains", praising the more consistent design of Skyrim. Shibley praised "the lack of copy-and-paste level design that's plagued Bethesda's previous games, ... giving a lived-in and handcrafted look to the world".[ Bedford noted that the improved graphical fidelity over ''Oblivion'' allowed the game world to feel more lifelike, praising the "misty mountain setting, complete with swirling fog and high-altitude snowstorms".][ An editor for '']PC PowerPlay
''PC PowerPlay'' (''PCPP'') is Australia's only dedicated PC games magazine. ''PC PowerPlay'' focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for us ...
'' praised the diversity of the dungeon design. Andrew Reiner of ''Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' cited criticisms that ''Oblivion'' faced for repetitive dungeons, noting that "the composition of each dungeon is largely unique and individualized" in ''Skyrim''. He also favored the design choice to have a quick route out of a dungeon leading from its last room, eliminating a problem he identified ''Oblivion'' as having, where the player would clear a dungeon and then have to go all the way back to the beginning to exit it. Many reviewers praised the large number of things to do in the world outside of the main story.[ Tom Francis of '']PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' noted that it was difficult to explore the world without becoming distracted by things to do, stating that, "it's hard to walk for a minute in any direction without encountering an intriguing cave, a lonely shack, some strange stones, a wandering traveller, ra haunted fort".
Reviewers welcomed the ability to dual-wield weapons and magic. An editor for ''PC PowerPlay
''PC PowerPlay'' (''PCPP'') is Australia's only dedicated PC games magazine. ''PC PowerPlay'' focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for us ...
'' felt that the dual-wielding ability "transforms the tactical scope of each combat encounter".[ Shibley noted that the dual-wielding option gave the player more freedom to experiment with combat, writing that, "the ability to apply a spell to each hand ... generates huge potential for getting creative with your spell combinations".][ However, reviewers were critical of the melee combat, feeling that it had not been improved upon as much as other areas in the game.] Justin McElroy
Justin Tyler McElroy ( , born November 8, 1980) is an American podcaster, comedian, and former video game journalist. He is known for his work on podcasts (such as ''My Brother, My Brother and Me'', ''The Adventure Zone'', and ''Sawbones'') and ...
of ''Joystiq
''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 as part of the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs, now owned by AOL. It was AOL's primary video game blog, with sister blogs dealing with MMORPG gaming in general and the popular MMORPG ''W ...
'' felt that "what should be thrilling fights in ''Skyrim'' are often weighed down by the same clunky melee system ''Oblivion'' suffered from". Onyett described the melee combat as "flat" and "floaty", and that "many times it feels like you're slicing air instead of a mythical creature's flesh". Francis agreed with this sentiment, stating that, "too much of the time, you wave your weapon around and enemies barely react to the hits".[
The game received minor criticism in several other areas. The quality of the main quest divided some reviewers. While Reiner praised the main quest as "superbly penned" and "Bethesda's best effort to date",][ Butts and Francis criticized the fact that the story was delivered primarily through conversations and quest journals, rather than through the player's own interactions.][ While the dragon battles were well-received, some reviewers observed flaws in the AI for dragons. Onyett pointed out their "predictable attack patterns",] which Francis agreed with, claiming that "fighting them never changes much: you can just ignore them until they land, then shoot them from a distance when they do".[ Reiner felt that, due to the repetitiveness of their attack patterns, the dragons were not challenging enough for low-level players.][ ''Edge'' pointed out a curve in difficulty for players who favored archery and magic, as dragons were difficult to attack while airborne.] Many reviewers noted glitches while playing ''Skyrim'', some game-breaking. Nick Cowen of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' pointed out that the game's glitches were a trade-off for its ambitious scope, and that he had experienced glitches that forced him to reload earlier saves. ''Edge'' began their review by criticizing the lack of polish, while still acknowledging many areas in the game which made up for it.
Technical issues
At the launch of ''Skyrim'', many technical issues of varying severity were reported. Some examples include a texture down-scaling issue on the Xbox 360 version when the game was run from the hard drive; crashes, slowdown and frame rate issues on the PlayStation 3 version when save files exceeded 6 MB, commonly occurring due to extended gameplay times; and various crashes and slowdowns on the Windows version. According to ''Skyrim''s director Todd Howard, the notion that bugs were caused by "restrictive RAM" is incorrect. Howard said, "It's literally the things you've done in what order and what's running."
Since release, several patches were published to address technical issues and improve overall gameplay. Patch 1.2 was released on November 29, 2011, to fix some of the game's issues; however, some players reported new bugs in the game following the patch, including more frequent game crashes. Patch 1.3 was released on December 7, 2011, to improve stability, further address known issues, and fix some problems that were introduced in version 1.2. Patch 1.4 was released on February 1, 2012, for the PC. Another list of issues and bugs were addressed in this patch, and ''Skyrim'' launcher support for Skyrim Workshop (PC) was provided. Patch 1.5 was released on March 20, 2012, for the PC. Numerous bugs were fixed, and new archery/spellcasting kill cams were included. On April 12, 2012, Bethesda announced that Kinect
Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flig ...
support would be coming for the Xbox 360 version of ''Skyrim'', with over 200 voice commands. Patch 1.6 was released on May 24, 2012, for the PC. This includes a new feature: mounted combat. Patch 1.7 was released on July 30, 2012, for the PC, and 1.8 was released on November 1, 2012, for the PC. These two introduced only minor bugfixes. Patch 1.9 was released on March 18, 2013. In addition to providing various bug fixes, this patch also added new features, most prominently the new "Legendary" difficulty, and "Legendary" skills, which effectively remove the level cap.
An unofficial patch
An unofficial patch is a patch for a piece of software, created by a third party such as a user community without the involvement of the original developer. Similar to an ordinary patch, it alleviates bugs or shortcomings. Unofficial patches do no ...
attempts to fix remaining issues unattended by the official patches. It lists hundreds of gameplay, quest, and other bugs that it fixes in the game and its add-ons.
Sales
During the first day of release, Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
showed over 230,000 people playing ''Skyrim'' concurrently. Within two days of the game's launch, 3.4 million physical copies were sold. Of those sales, 59% were for the Xbox 360, 27% for the PS3, and 14% for the PC. In the first week of release, Bethesda stated that 7 million copies of the game had been shipped to retailers worldwide, and that total sales through the following Wednesday were expected to generate an estimated US$450 million. By December 16, 2011, this had risen to 10 million copies shipped to retail and around US$620 million. Additionally, Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
stated that it was the fastest selling game to date on their Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
platform. Steam's statistics page showed the client breaking a five million user record by having 5,012,468 users logged in on January 2, 2012. The total number of sold copies on the PC platform is difficult to confirm because Valve does not publicly publish digital sales. Shortly after its release, ''Skyrim'' was the most-played game on Steam by a huge margin, with double the number of players as ''Team Fortress 2
''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...
'', the second-placed game. In the United Kingdom, ''Skyrim'' was the 9th best selling title of 2012. In June 2013, Bethesda announced that over 20 million copies of the game had been sold. Regarding sales on the PC, Todd Howard stated in an interview with ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun
''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...
'' that, "''Skyrim'' did better than we've ever done on PC by a large, large number. And that's where the mods are. That feeds the game for a long time." Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, a market research firm, estimates that the game has sold 22.7 million copies worldwide. In November 2016, Howard announced that ''Skyrim'' had sold over 30 million copies.
Awards
''Skyrim'' received awards from numerous gaming sites and publications. ''IGN'' and GameSpot named ''Skyrim'' "PC Game of the Year". It also received ''GameSpot'' "Readers' Choice" award. The game received the "RPG of the Year" award from Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
, ''IGN'', ''X-Play
''Xplay'' (previously ''GameSpot TV'' and ''Extended Play'') is a TV program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, airs on '' G4'' in the United States and had aired on ''G4 Canada'' in Canada (and briefly on YT ...
'', GameSpot and GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
. It received "Overall Game of the Year" wins from Spike TV, ''Giant Bomb
''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...
'', ''X-Play'', Machinima.com
Machinima, Inc. was an American multiplatform online entertainment network owned by WarnerMedia. The company was founded in January 2000 by Hugh Hancock and was headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
It originated as a hub for its namesake, m ...
, GameSpot, ''1UP.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
'', ''Game Revolution
''GameRevolution'' (formerly ''Game-Revolution'') is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots ...
'', GameSpy, Joystiq
''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 as part of the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs, now owned by AOL. It was AOL's primary video game blog, with sister blogs dealing with MMORPG gaming in general and the popular MMORPG ''W ...
, and the Interactive Achievement Awards
The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an award show in the video game industry started in 1998 and commonly referred to in the industry as the "video games Oscar". The awards are arranged by the Academy of Interac ...
. It was voted No. 1 in '' Good Game''s top 100 video games of all time and No. 1 in PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
's "The 100 Greatest PC Games of All Time". In Giant Bomb's 2017 Game of the Year Awards, the game was a runner-up for "2017's Old Game of the Year". The VR version was nominated for "Best Virtual Reality Game" at the Gamescom 2017 Awards; for the Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best Virtual Reality Game and the Tappan Zee Bridge Award for Best Remake (along with the Switch version) at the New York Game Awards 2018; for "Excellence in Technical Achievement" and "VR Game of the Year" at the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards
The SXSW Gaming Awards are awards given to video games during the annual South by Southwest Festival (SXSW), held in Austin, Texas typically in March of that year. The Awards are part of the SXSW Gaming Expo which is part of the SXSW Interactive ...
; and for "Best VR/AR Game" at the 2018 Game Developers Choice Awards
The Game Developers Choice Awards are awards annually presented at the Game Developers Conference for outstanding game developers and games.
Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by the Spotlight Awards, which were ...
. At the 17th Annual National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, the VR version was nominated for "Control Design, VR", "Direction in Virtual Reality", and "Sound Mixing in Virtual Reality", while the Switch version was nominated for "Costume Design". The VR version won the award for "Best VR Game" at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards
The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...
.
Legacy
Critics often consider ''Skyrim'' among the best video games of all time
This is a list of video games that multiple reputable video game journalists or magazines have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least six separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from differ ...
. ''Skyrim'' has been credited by developers as a direct influence on later games, such as ''Valheim
''Valheim'' is an upcoming survival and sandbox video game by the Swedish developer Iron Gate Studio and published by Coffee Stain Studios. It was released in early access on 2 February 2021 for Linux and Windows via Steam, and for Xbox One and ...
'' and '' The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild''. The game has received credit for popularizing large-scale open worlds in fantasy role-playing games, influencing the settings of installations in game series including ''The Witcher
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are bea ...
'' and ''Dragon Age
''Dragon Age'' is a media franchise centered on a series of fantasy role-playing video games created and developed by BioWare, which have seen releases on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Th ...
''.
''Skyrim'' spawned a number of noteworthy Internet memes
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
that circulated as image macros or video parodies and achieved viral popularity. These including the dragon shout "Fus ro dah", and variations or adaptations of the phrase "I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee."
During an interview in 2018, Todd Howard attributed Bethesda's frequent re-releases of the game to the "millions" of people still playing ''Skyrim''.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The
2011 video games
Action role-playing video games
AIAS Game of the Year winners
Bethesda Game Studios games
Video games about dragons
Fantasy video games
Games for Windows certified games
Kinect games
Open-world video games
PlayStation 3 games
PlayStation 4 games
PlayStation 4 Pro enhanced games
PlayStation 5 games
PlayStation VR games
Role-playing video games
Single-player video games
Video games with Steam Workshop support
Nintendo Switch games
The Elder Scrolls
Video game sequels
Video games based on Norse mythology
Video games scored by Jeremy Soule
Video games developed in the United States
Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender
Video games with downloadable content
Video games with expansion packs
Video games that use Amiibo figurines
Windows games
Xbox 360 games
Xbox Cloud Gaming games
Xbox One games
Xbox One X enhanced games
Xbox Series X and Series S games
Video games using Havok
Video games with customizable avatars
Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year winners
Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year winners
Spike Video Game Awards Game of the Year winners
D.I.C.E. Award for Role-Playing Game of the Year winners