A new live demo and Q&A video for the anticipated Skyblivion mod has confirmed that work is still moving in the right direction and a release date looks set for sometime this year.

Fans of The Elder Scrolls series can be pretty hardcore – with those devoted to Skyrim in particular, seemingly more dedicated than most. For years, they have been waiting for news of Elder Scrolls VI or word of a remake of Oblivion to no avail. So a group of them decided they were tired of waiting for Bethesda and decided to go the DIY route.

Remaking a game in a new engine is not an easy job. Many modders have announced such ambitious projects only for them to die as the modder slowly comes to the crushing realization of what a huge job they have undertaken and the project crumbles. 

It seems that Skyblivion, the modder group behind this massive project, is made of sterner stuff. So much so that after a whopping 13 years of development work, this vast mod is almost ready for release. 

Skyblivion release date still on track for this year

Fans are clearly chomping at the bit to get their hands on it, as Skyblivion mechanics lead Scott Whiting explains: “Every second message in chat is ‘When is release?'” he said during a Q&A session, “We'll tell you as soon as we know. It's a volunteer project; it’s hard to pin down an exact release date, but we are confident we can get it out this year. It’s coming along so incredibly.”

The team recently released a live demo video, which showcases much of the work the team has done so far. Fans will be able to spot iconic locations such as the stronghold of the Dark Brotherhood and the Fighter's Guild before being swept through a dungeon and some fights with skeletons. 

Everything looks amazing. Though Skyrim originally came out in 2011, it still looks and feels great so giving 2007's Oblivion a Skyrim glow-up makes a big difference.

The Skyblivion has gone a bit further than just copying Oblivion directly and has introduced new features such as unique dungeon appearances to match the region they are located in. This is the sort of thing that might come out of a lovingly made remaster.

Unless Bethesda has been secretly working on an Oblivion remake for years, they might find that dedicated fans have beaten them to the punch. 

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Charlie Noon

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