After a constant barrage of rumors, revamp Oblivion with all included DLC, plus a range of other changes, including new voice lines and a reworked leveling system.

Speaking to VideoGamer, original Oblivion senior game designer Bruce Nesmith said, "I'm not sure remaster actually does it justice," referring to how much work went into Virtuos' version. Having left Bethesda during Starfield's development, Nesmith was unaware of Oblivion Remastered's existence until the leaks picked up last week. He assumed that the remaster would largely be a texture update akin to Skyrim: Special Edition, but was suprised at the "staggering amount of remastering." Nesmith's full quote is as follows:

"I was assuming this was going to be a texture update. I didn’t really think it was going to be the complete overhaul that they’ve announced it to be [...]. But to completely redo the animations, the animation system, put in the Unreal Engine, change the leveling system, change the interface. I mean, that’s, you’re touching every part of the game. That’s a staggering amount of remastering. It almost needs its own word, quite frankly. I’m not sure remaster actually does it justice."

Original Oblivion Developer Is Charmed By The Game's Longevity

Oblivion Turns 20 Next Year

Nesmith's discussion with VideoGamer then turned to Oblivion's longevity. The Elder Scrolls 4 was first released in 2006 for the Xbox 360 and PC, followed by a PS3 version in 2007. It has not enjoyed the same as its successor, Skyrim, which has been ported to just about every platform imaginable. Oblivion Remastered was highly anticipated even before it was officially acknowledged by Bethesda and Virtuos, though, and its resurgence has filled Nesmith with pride:

"A game that I worked on has the longevity to still generate interest 20 years later and to be worth the effort – it sounds like considerable effort – and time that Bethesda put into remastering it. I mean, there’s precious few people in our industry who can say that they’ve been part of something like that."

Oblivion Remastered generating interest is putting it mildly. The game quickly reached over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam, which doesn't for those on PC playing through Game (or purchased through a different storefront), nor those playing on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. Skyrim's long reign has clearly increased the audience for The Elder Scrolls in anticipation of its sixth installment, and such a significant rework to Oblivion is just what it needed, considering the older games in the series are growing quite dated.

Is Oblivion Remastered Really More Than A Traditional Remaster?

Bruce Nesmith Calls It "Oblivion 2.0"

With all the changes Oblivion Remastered made, Nesmith suggests it's a sort of "Oblivion 2.0," which isn't an inaccurate description. The line between a remake and a remaster has always been fuzzy, and Oblivion Remastered definitely lands somewhere in the middle. It's very close to 2020's Demon's Souls, which is conversely classified as a remake. Both use their original game's programming, transplanted into a new engine, with updated models and various tweaks to gameplay. This means Oblivion Remastered retains the original's quirks, but clearly looks better and plays slightly differently.

In the deep dive reveal, Virtuos developers described Unreal Engine 5 as the "body" being controlled by the "brain" of Oblivion's original game logic. All the new additions – being able to sprint, new leveling system, torso animations separate from lower-body animations, etc. – have simply been grafted onto it. Nesmith is right in suggesting "remaster" isn't quite right, but it's also true that The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered didn't completely remake the 2006 classic.

Source: VideoGamer, Bethesda Softworks/YouTube