opinion: The announced Skyrim Anniversary Edition is more than just the umpteenth remake of the cult role-playing game. It is a challenge to The Elder Scrolls 6.
When I read the announcement of the Skyrim Anniversary Edition on my mobile late at night, I had to laugh out loud at first. Because at first glance, the umpteenth new edition of the role-playing game seems like a self-deprecating joke by Bethesda. Since its release in 2011, Skyrim has appeared on all consoles, in VR, as a special edition, on refrigerators and as an Alexa audio game. And now again with next-gen upgrades, new content and our all-time favourite feature in any game ever: fishing.
Meanwhile, the release of Elder Scrolls 6 is still a long way off. But the Anniversary Edition is even more than a bridging of the waiting time: it stands for the enormous challenge that a new part has to master.
Skyrim is more than it was 10 years ago
Skyrim just can’t be killed – I say with all love. I, too, have often enough opted for a round in Himmelsrand instead of starting a new role-playing game, and as I write these lines I’m already planning to fus-ro-dahn some dragons tonight after all. But why is that? Because it’s an excellent open-world role-playing game? Not only that.
There’s a lot more to a ten-year phenomenon like Skyrim. Bethesda still invests money and time after all these years to put out a new version of their evergreen – and can be sure that it will be bought. Skyrim is no longer just the great open-world sandbox it was in 2011: it’s its loyal community, its thousands and thousands of mods, its bugs, its inside jokes and its mysteries. Skyrim has had a decade to become more than the sum of its parts.
A YouTube channel dedicated solely to breaking the game in an entertaining way, such as having all the creatures of Skyrim compete against each other in a tournament? Hugely successful and hugely entertaining! A tweet telling how the legendary intro was almost destroyed by overpowered bees? Goes straight viral! A gigantic mod that builds every province of Tamriel with its own quests, stories and characters, making it bigger than any Bethesda RPG? See for yourself!
Can Elder Scrolls 6 repeat this?
If Elder Scrolls 6 comes out one day – and believe me, I’m eagerly anticipating it – it won’t offer all that. That can be a strength, of course. A new, unknown world to explore. A blank canvas for modders, fans and content creators. But it could also become a problem.
It’s similar to new MMOs coming out: they’re competing against bedrock titles like WoW and Final Fantasy 14, which already had a years-long head start to become what they are today. An unfair fight. And when I look at how many people are rubbing their hands together for an Anniversary Edition with a fishing function of a 10-year-old role-playing game – then I already wonder whether Elder Scrolls 6 will have reached the same cult status in 15 years.
Is that why I think Elder Scrolls 6 won’t sell like hot cakes? Well, I’m not crazy after all. But the developers themselves know that Skyrim would have faded into irrelevance without the unwavering love of the community. To announce the Anniversary Edition, they honoured their fans by saying, “After ten years, we can safely say that it’s the fans who make the game shine and its anniversary worth celebrating.” Not to mention that a large portion of the 500 DLCs included in Anniversary came from the mod community itself.
So part of a successful Elder Scrolls 6 is that the developers listen to their community more than ever, deliver fair DLC (let’s not talk about the horse armour) and continue to make modding accessible – and actively support it.
But we also need to scale back our hype, our expectations of a new modern classic, to play Elder Scrolls 6 with an open mind. To see it through the shining eyes of someone who first heard the words “Finally, you’re awake. ” in 2011.
