Oblivion Remastered Drops, Blows Up Steam, and Redefines a Classic

Well, they actually did it. Bethesda pulled a “now available” moment with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and it’s already blowing up like a Daedric invasion in the Imperial City. If you’ve been online in the past 24 hours, you’ve probably seen the reactions. And if you’re a millennial, your inner 2006 self is currently ugly crying in Cyrodiilic nostalgia.

First off, the numbers. Oblivion Remastered hit a massive 182,000+ concurrent players on Steam on launch day. That’s insane for a single-player RPG, putting it right behind giants like CS2, Dota 2, and PUBG. It’s also the #1 top seller on the platform. And that’s just Steam—we haven’t even factored in Xbox, PlayStation, Microsoft Store, or Game Pass numbers yet.

And yes, it's available on Game Pass, both PC and Ultimate. No excuses.

This remaster isn’t just a texture upres either. It’s a full-blown Unreal Engine 5 remake, developed by Virtuos in collaboration with Bethesda. We’re talking 4K, 60fps, reworked lighting, modern UI, and proper sprinting. Sprinting! You can now run like a normal person in Cyrodiil without installing 12 mods.

Also, Bethesda seems to be taking some real cues from Skyrim. The infamous leveling system? Smoothed out. Dialogue? Expanded, with unique racial voice lines. Controls? Modernized.

“Oblivion was a real defining moment in the series and how we make games as a studio.” — Todd Howard, in the official reveal video

This is the most love Oblivion has gotten since the Horse Armor DLC was memed into legend. Speaking of which, the Deluxe Edition actually brings that full circle with new quests and unique armor sets for both Akatosh and Mehrunes Dagon, plus horse armor (of course), a digital artbook, and a soundtrack app. Yep. You’re either annoyed or weirdly hyped.

The remaster also includes the full OG expansion lineup: The Shivering Isles, Knights of the Nine, plus all those forgotten mini-DLCs like the Thieves Den and Wizard's Tower. It’s all baked in.

But there’s one catch.

“There are no current plans for official mod support.” — Bethesda

Oof. That said, this is the Elder Scrolls community—we’ve already got fan patches and texture mods floating around. And get this: Bethesda even gifted the remaster to the fan devs working on Skyblivion, a massive mod project that brings Oblivion into Skyrim’s engine. That’s surprisingly wholesome, considering how Bethesda usually rolls with community work.

On the performance front:

• You’ll need 125GB of space, 16GB of RAM minimum
• Recommended specs shoot for 32GB RAM and a modern GPU like the 6800XT or RTX 2080

And yes, it runs beautifully, assuming your rig doesn’t choke.

For a lot of us, Oblivion was the first Elder Scrolls we got lost in. It was janky, weird, and full of radiant AI chaos, but also had heart. Skyrim may have gone mainstream, and Morrowind is still the lore junkie’s dream, but Oblivion? That was where Bethesda figured out how to do true cinematic fantasy.

Let’s not forget the cultural impact. Before Skyrim's Fus Ro Dah went viral, Oblivion memes like “Stop right there, criminal scum!” were already legendary. The game defined a generation of open-world RPGs, blending high fantasy with emergent chaos. Its influence can still be felt in everything from Dragon Age: Inquisition to The Witcher 3, and now with the remaster, it's back to remind us why.

“Each chapter tries to define role-playing games for its generation.” — Todd Howard again, being very Todd Howard about it

Whether you’re here for the nostalgia, the 4K screenshots, or just to see what all the fuss is about, Oblivion Remastered delivers on the core promise: that weird, wonderful Bethesda energy, just with way better lighting.

It’s a reminder that sometimes, looking back can be just as powerful as moving forward, especially when you do it in Unreal Engine 5.

Want more Bethesda? Stay tuned for the Fallout 3 Remaster leaks (you know they’re coming). Or just load up Oblivion, slap on some shiny new armor, and yell “By Azura!” into the void.

Cyrodiil’s calling again.