The Skyblivion and Oblivion Remastered romance continues to blossom, as Bethesda invites the modders to its studio for tea and sweetrolls

You would think the Skyblivion and Oblivion Remastered teams would be the bitterest of rivals, given how Bethesda surprise dropped a comprehensive makeover of its 2006 RPG on the heads of a team of volunteers, one which had been diligently working on a similar project for years. Yet if anything, the relationship between the two groups of Oblivion overhaulers is turning into a game dev love story.

It all started before Oblivion Remastered had even been revealed, with Skyblivion project lead Rebelzize sending “all love and no hate” to Bethesda as rumours of a remake swirled. Following the reveal, Bethesda responded by handing out game keys of the remastered version to the entire Skyblivion team, while calling the modders’ own efforts “very special”.

Now, that winged stealth archer Cupid has fluttered behind The Elder Scrolls’ very own David and Goliath, striking both with a ranged sneak attack for 3x damage. Bethesda formally invited the Skyblivion team round to its house, and the modders accepted. Moreover, there are pictures to prove it.

The news and images were shared by Rebelzize on X. “Massive thanks for @BethesdaStudios for inviting us to the office and showing us around,” he wrote. “Seeing the excitement from the Bethesda team for @TESRSkyblivion has been absolutely unreal.” The images include the Skyblivion team lined up with various Bethesda devs, including studio head Todd Howard, and the modders in discussion with Bethesda devs in one of the studio’s meeting rooms.

While this is all very wholesome, the cynical part of my brain says that Bethesda’s reasons for having the Skyblivion team over are largely self-interested, as it doesn’t want to be seen as steamrolling a highly anticipated, years-long modding project on the cusp of launch. That said, Bethesda didn’t have to do any of this, and could possibly have taken a much harsher stance toward Skyblivion, attempting to shut the project down.

Hence, whatever Bethesda reasons, it’s great to see such a big studio being so supportive of a modding project like this. While Oblivion Remastered is already out (and generally well received) Skyblivion’s release date remains no more specific than 2025. But Rebelzize confirmed last month that the overhaul is “still on track for release”.