It’s unclear why Microsoft and Bethesda have decided to keep this a poorly kept secret ahead of its release, but a load of reputable sources are now reporting that they are about to drop the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remake quite literally a week from now, the one oblivion remaster April 21.
oblivion remaster
This has been said for a while by insiders like NatetheHate and VGC, and now the reliable Jeff Grubb has come out to say the same thing. It’s next week. “Other people have said but I’ve got separate confirmation that’s going to be the case,” Grubb said.
We are also now seeing leaks about what the game will look like in Unreal Engine 5 oblivion remaster, as this is not simply a bit of polish and a remaster, this is a full remake for Virtuous, that developer’s specialty. These images were unfortunately leaked by Virtuous itself in a now-private page on its own website. But of course it’s too late now. It looks really good! This may be a pretty big deal of a launch this year, oblivion remaster shadow drop or not.
The oblivion remaster leaked back in 2023 when Microsoft documents were released as part of its court case for the purchase of Activision. Back then it was supposed to be in FY2022, but clearly that did not happen. Since then, it has not been officially announced, hence the coming “shadow drop.” Then, a former Virtuous employee detailed coming changes that have been made to “update” the game for modern audiences, ones we’ve now known since March of this year. This is when it was being reported the remake would be released “by June,” and then VGC said next month. It is now next month, and yes, it’s happening.
Here are the reworked gameplay systems based on what we’ve heard:
- The HUD – Meant to be easier to understand for new players
- Stamina – Meant to be less frustrating and for players to be knocked down less when its depleted
- Hit Reactions – Meant to improve combat on both the player and enemy side
- Blocking – Meant to be “inspired by Souls-like games”
I would probably question the decision to debut this with literally zero marketing, as I get that shadow drops are sometimes cool (Hi-Fi Rush!) but something this significant feels like it deserved more of a spotlight. Plus it’s already leaked as being in development for the last few years, and this shadow drop idea leaked months ago. But hey, clear your calendars.