Skyblivion Shows Off First 15 Minutes of Gameplay

The Skyblivion team has released a new gameplay showcase for its fan-made remake of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, teasing fans with a taste of what the ambitious volunteer project has in store. Skyblivion is a part of the TES Renewal Project, a series of large-scale total conversion mods aimed at recreating older Elder Scrolls games in newer game engines. Originally envisioned on a much smaller scale in 2012, the Oblivion remake has since evolved into one of the most ambitious Skyrim mods to ever exist, with multiple teams of talented modders from around the world working together to bring it to life.

With the surprise release of Oblivion Remastered earlier this year, fans worried Skyblivion might shut down since Bethesda appeared to have beaten them to the punch. The team assured fans, however, that the remake would continue development as planned. The Skyblivion folks were even invited to Bethesda HQ following Oblivion Remastered’s launch, receiving an official stamp of approval to continue working. The project is now in its final stages of development and remains scheduled for a 2025 release.

Skyblivion Reveals First 15 Minute of Gameplay

The Skyblivion team shared 15 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay at Creation Mod Con 2025, showcasing how Oblivion’s tutorial sequence has been reimagined in their fan-led project. The footage begins with the iconic jail encounter with Uriel Septim and his subsequent assassination, then carries players through the underground tunnels, goblin caves, and sewer system before finally emerging into the open world of Cyrodiil.

The team went to painstaking lengths to faithfully recreate the starting sequence in order to help players adjust to the “combination of Skyrim and Oblivion mechanics.” They reaffirmed, however, that Skyblivion is a “remake, not a remaster.” Unlike Oblivion Remastered, which recreated the original, the project aims to update the game to modern standards. The shared footage showed that Oblivion’s lockpicking system, for example, will receive an overhaul, incorporating elements from Elder Scrolls Online to become more palatable for new players. Additionally, sound design, UI elements, combat, characters, and even some cities will undergo major improvements.

A key advantage Skyblivion has over Oblivion Remastered is the availability of mods. Unlike Bethesda’s official version, the fan remake has the entirety of Skyrim’s 100,000+ mod catalog to pull from. Even the gameplay trailer showed what looked like SkyUI, one of the most popular Skyrim mods, being used. That’s like a game releasing with 14 years of pre-made mods already available. Of course, extensive patching will be required to make most of these mods work with Skyblivion, but the foundation is already there.

Skyblivion is not the only large-scale mod being developed for Skyrim. The TES Renewal Project is also working on Skywind, a remake of Morrowind. Though it’s further behind in development compared to Skyblivion, Skywind received a gameplay demo just earlier this year, showcasing a lengthy questline. In addition, the Beyond Skyrim project is also working on several major mods, giving fans a lot to look forward to in the coming years.