Elder Scrolls Oblivion
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''The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'' is a 2006
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...
developed by
Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', '' Fallout'', and '' Starfield''. B ...
, and co-published by
Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...
and
2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several developme ...
. It is the fourth installment in ''
The Elder Scrolls ''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of action role-playing games, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...
'' series, following 2002's '' The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'', and was released for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
in 2006, followed by
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
in 2007. Taking place within the fictional province of Cyrodiil, the game's main story focuses on the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
's efforts to thwart a fanatical cult known as the Mythic Dawn that plans to open portal gates to a demonic realm known as Oblivion. The game continues the open-world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to travel anywhere in the
game world Game World is a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion who won the World Grand Championship in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in 2011. Life and career Game World is a chestnut stallion with a star and strip on his face, foaled on A ...
at any time and to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely. A perpetual objective for players is to improve their character's skills, which are numerical representations of certain abilities. Early in the game, seven skills are selected by the player as major skills for their character, with those remaining termed as minor skills. Development for ''Oblivion'' began in 2002, directly after the release of ''Morrowind'', opting for tighter pacing in gameplay and greater plot focus than in past titles. To design the graphics, Bethesda used an improved Havok physics engine,
high-dynamic-range High dynamic range (HDR), also known as wide dynamic range, extended dynamic range, or expanded dynamic range, is a signal with a higher dynamic range than usual. The term is often used in discussing the dynamic ranges of images, videos, audio or ...
lighting, procedural content generation tools that allowed developers to quickly create detailed terrains, and the
Radiant AI The Radiant AI is a technology developed by Bethesda Softworks for ''The Elder Scrolls'' video games. It allows non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originate ...
system, which enabled
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s (NPCs) to make choices and engage in behaviors more complex than in past titles. The game features fully voiced NPCs—a first for the series—and the music of composer
Jeremy Soule Jeremy Soule ( ; born December 19, 1975) is an American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 60 games and over a dozen other works during his career, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ...
. Upon release, ''Oblivion'' was a critical and commercial success, winning a number of industry and publication awards, notably including the Game of the Year award of 2006. It was praised for its impressive graphics, expansive game world, and schedule-driven NPCs, and is considered one of the greatest games ever made. Following a number of smaller content releases, Bethesda released two expansion packs for the game—'' Knights of the Nine'' and ''
Shivering Isles ''The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles'' is the second expansion pack for the role-playing video game '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion''. Announced on January 18, 2007, the expansion was developed, published, and released over the Xbox Live Mar ...
''—which were bundled with ''The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition'' in 2007, and later re-released as a fifth-anniversary edition in 2011. ''Oblivion'' was followed by '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' in 2011. A remastered version of ''Oblivion'' was released in April 2025.


Gameplay

''Oblivion'' is an open world
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
(RPG) that incorporates open-ended gameplay. The player can follow side-quests, interact with NPCs, dispatch monsters, develop their character, and travel anywhere in the province of Cyrodiil at any time while playing the game, provided that the areas are not quest-specific and otherwise inaccessible when not questing. The game never ends, and the player can continue playing after completing the main quest. The gameplay includes a fast-travel system, in which an icon appears on the game world map every time the player visits a new location. This excludes the game world's main cities which are already unlocked for fast travel from the start of the game. The player can arrive at the desired location instantaneously by selecting the icon on the map. Character development is a primary element of ''Oblivion''. At the beginning of the game, players select one of ten humanoid or
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
races, each of which has different natural abilities, and customize their character's appearance. A perpetual objective for players is to improve their character's skills, which are numerical representations of their ability in certain areas. Seven skills are selected early in the game as major skills, with the remainder termed minor. The players level up each time they improve their major skills by a total of ten points; this provides the opportunity to improve their
attributes Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), a characteristic of an object * Attribute (research), a quality of an object * Grammatical modifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure whic ...
. Attributes are more broad character qualities, such as speed and endurance, while skills are more specific, such as armorer or athletics. Afflictions such as disease and poison can reduce the player's attributes. When players reach 25, 50, 75, or 100 points in a single skill, they unlock new abilities related to the skill. The game's 21 skills fall evenly under the categories of combat, magic, and stealth, and many skills complement more than one area. Combat skills are used primarily for battle and incorporate armor and heavy weapons like blades, axes, maces, and hammers. Magic skills rely on the use of spells to alter the physical world, to affect the minds of others, to injure and debilitate enemies, to summon monsters to help fight, and to heal wounds. Stealth skills allow the player to crack locks, haggle for goods, use speech to manipulate people, and apply cunning in combat through the use of a bow or with a sneak attack. The spells, weapons, and other tools such that a player needs to employ and enhance these skills, such as lockpicks, can be purchased in shops, stolen from NPCs, or found as loot on the bodies of foes or in dungeons. ''Oblivion'' can be played in either a
first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
- or
third-person view In video games, third-person (also spelled third person) is a graphical perspective rendered from a fixed distance behind and slightly above the player character. This viewpoint allows players to see a more strongly characterized avatar and is ...
, except in the mobile phone version, in which the game can only be played in
isometric projection Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings. It is an axonometric projection in which the three coordinate axes appear equally foreshortened and ...
. The player may change the level of difficulty at any time, thereby weakening opponents and increasing the chance of success for particular actions. The screen constantly presents a
heads-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD () or head-up guidance system (HGS), is any see-through display, transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of t ...
, which provides information about the character's health, magicka, and fatigue, all of which can be increased by leveling up. Health can be restored by spells, potions, or resting; the loss of all health results in death. Magicka enables and is depleted by the use of spells; it is rejuvenated naturally over time, but it can be restored similarly to health. Fatigue affects the character's effectiveness in combat and general efficiency, and can be alleviated by resting, potions, and spells. Throughout the world are a variety of enemies, including standard fantasy monsters such as
imp IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Music * IMP (band) a Japanese boy band Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The L ...
s and
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s, and animals such as bears and wolves. Enemies become stronger, and weapons and armor more effective as the player levels up. This game mechanic of level-scaling was incorporated to maintain a constant and moderate aspect of difficulty. However, level-scaling combined with the leveling system has received criticism, as it has the potential to unbalance the game; characters with major skills that increase on an involuntary basis, such as athletics or armor, can find that they level too quickly, making the enemies proportionately harder than intended.


Plot

''Oblivion'' is set during the Third Era, six years after the events of '' The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'', although it is not a direct sequel to it or any other game. The game is set in Cyrodiil—a province of Tamriel, the continent on which all the games in the series have so far taken place. The story begins with the player imprisoned in a cell for an unknown crime. Emperor Uriel Septim VII (
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...
), accompanied by Imperial bodyguards known as the Blades, arrives in the prison, fleeing from assassins who have murdered the emperor's three sons and are now targeting him. The emperor and the Blades reveal that the player's jail cell contains a secret entrance to a part of the city's sewer that functions as an escape route. Pardoned by the emperor, the player follows the group into the sewer, where they come under attack by assassins. The Blades' captain is cut down during the fighting that ensues. Knowing he is destined to die by the hands of the assassins, Uriel Septim entrusts the player with the Amulet of Kings, worn by the Septim emperors of Tamriel, and orders the player to take it to a man named Jauffre ( Ralph Cosham), the grandmaster of the Blades, at Weynon Priory. Immediately afterward, one of the assassins kills the emperor. The player escapes the sewer and heads out into the
open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...
of Cyrodiil. The lack of an heir for Uriel Septim has broken an old
covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...
—the barrier to Oblivion: a dangerous realm that is in another dimension. Multiple gates to Oblivion open, and an invasion of Tamriel begins by magical creatures known as Daedra, killing and destroying anything in their path. Jauffre tells the player that the only way to close the gates permanently is to find someone of the royal bloodline to retake the throne and relight the Dragonfires—with the Amulet of Kings—in the Imperial City. However, there is an illegitimate son named Martin (
Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...
), who is a priest in the city of Kvatch. Upon arriving at Kvatch, the player finds that the Daedra have destroyed the city and very few survivors remain. A massive Oblivion Gate is obstructing the main city entrance, and the player must venture through the gate into the Deadlands—one of the planes of Oblivion—in order to close it from the inside and allow access to the city. After closing the gate, the player enters Kvatch and takes it back from the Daedra with the assistance of surviving guardsmen. Martin has survived, and the player persuades him to come to Weynon Priory. The player, now recognized as the Hero of Kvatch, returns to Weynon Priory with Martin, finding that it has come under attack by assassins and that the Amulet of Kings has been stolen. The player escorts Jauffre and Martin to Cloud Ruler Temple, the stronghold of the Blades in Cyrodiil. There, Martin is recognized as the emperor and is given command of the Blades. The player is optionally entered into their ranks and sets off in search of the amulet. After gathering information, the player learns that the group responsible for Uriel Septim's assassination and the theft of the amulet are the Mythic Dawn, a cult dedicated to the worshiping of Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric Prince of Destruction. The cult believes Dagon is the true creator of the world and wish for him to "cleanse" it of all impurities. Killing the emperor and thus removing the barriers to Oblivion was the first step in realizing this idea. The player attempts to infiltrate the secret meeting place of the cult in the hopes of retrieving the amulet. When the player does so, the cult's leader, Mankar Camoran (
Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Known for his sophisticated villain roles, he was named by ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades in ...
), escapes through a portal, taking the amulet with him. The player takes the book that had opened the portal to Martin, who deduces a way to reopen the portal. The player seeks out three key artifacts necessary to recreate the portal: a Daedric artifact, The Blood of the Divines (in this case, the armor of the first Septim emperor serves as a substitute), and a Great Welkynd Stone. With all three retrieved, Martin reveals that a final ingredient is needed: a Great Sigil Stone from inside a Great Gate similar to the one that devastated Kvatch. Martin and Jauffre decide to allow the city of Bruma to be attacked by Daedra so that a Great Gate would be opened. Once it is, the player obtains the Stone and closes the Gate, also saving Bruma. A portal is created at Cloud Ruler Temple, and the player is sent through to Mankar Camoran's created realm of Paradise. After bypassing Daedra, Mythic Dawn members and obstacles, the player confronts Camoran and kills him. The player returns the Amulet of Kings to Martin, and they subsequently travel to the Imperial City with the Blades to relight the Dragonfires and end the Daedric invasion. They find the city under attack by Daedra and an enormous avatar of Mehrunes Dagon himself. The player and Martin fight their way to the Temple of the One. There, Martin laments that they are powerless against Dagon's avatar and explains that they can only defeat him one way. He bids farewell to the player and shatters the Amulet of Kings, merging himself with the spirit of Akatosh, the Dragon-God of Time, thus becoming Akatosh's avatar. After a battle, Akatosh casts Dagon back into Oblivion and lets out a mighty roar before turning to stone. Martin, whose soul was consumed by the amulet, enters the afterlife to join his forebears. In a telepathic monologue to the player, he sheds an optimistic light, explaining that while the Amulet of Kings is destroyed and the throne again lies empty, the gates of Oblivion are now shut forever, and the future of Tamriel now lies in the player's hands. The Empire's high chancellor sincerely thanks the player for their service during the crisis and proclaims them as the seventh Champion of Cyrodiil.


Development

The game was developed by
Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', '' Fallout'', and '' Starfield''. B ...
, a United States-based software company. ''Morrowind''s lead designer
Ken Rolston Ken Rolston is an American computer game and role-playing game designer best known for his work with West End Games and on the computer game series ''The Elder Scrolls''. Tabletop role-playing games Ken Rolston began working as a professional g ...
oversaw the development team. The PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game were co-published by
2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several developme ...
and
Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...
, while the PlayStation 3 version was co-published by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
in Europe alongside Bethesda. Work on ''Oblivion'' began shortly after the release of ''Morrowind'' in 2002. By mid-September 2004, ''Oblivion'' had been officially announced, and its title revealed. During ''Oblivion''s development, Bethesda concentrated on creating a system with a more realistic storyline, believable characters, and meaningful quests than had been done in the past. In comparison with previous titles in the series, the game features improved
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
thanks to the use of Bethesda proprietary
Radiant AI The Radiant AI is a technology developed by Bethesda Softworks for ''The Elder Scrolls'' video games. It allows non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originate ...
software, and enhanced physics facilitated by the Havok
physics engine A physics engine is computer software that provides an approximate simulation of certain physical systems, typically classical dynamics, including rigid body dynamics (including collision detection), soft body dynamics, and fluid dynamics. I ...
. The graphics take advantage of advanced lighting and shader routines such as
high-dynamic-range rendering High-dynamic-range rendering (HDRR or HDR rendering), also known as high-dynamic-range lighting, is the rendering of computer graphics scenes by using lighting calculations done in high dynamic range (HDR). This allows preservation of details t ...
(HDR) and
specular mapping Specularity is the visual appearance of specular reflections. In computer graphics In computer graphics, it means the quantity used in three-dimensional (3D) rendering which represents the amount of reflectivity a surface has. It is a key com ...
. Bethesda developed and implemented procedural content creation tools in the building of ''Oblivion''s terrain, leading to the expedited creation of landscapes that are more complex and realistic than in past titles. While designing ''Oblivion''s landscape and architecture, developers worked from personal travel photographs, nature books, texture images, and reference photographs. Procedural content generation tools used in production allowed for the creation of realistic environments at much faster rates than was the case with ''Morrowind''. Erosion algorithms incorporated in the landscape generation tools allowed for the creation of craggy terrain quickly and easily, replacing ''Morrowind''s artificially smoothed-over terrain. ''Oblivion''s view distance is far greater than its predecessor's, extending player sightlines to the horizon and giving views of distant towns and mountain ranges. According to a Microsoft press release, ''Oblivion''s game world is approximately 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) in size. Wilderness quests, ruins, and dungeons were added to fill surplus space. Content in the dungeons is more densely packed than in dungeons in ''Morrowind'', with an increase in the frequency of creature encounters, quest-related NPCs, and puzzles. However, the populations represented in ''Oblivion'' do not match the "thousands upon thousands" described in previous in-game literature. The development team decided to set the NPC populations at a level that would play well, rather than one that would match game lore, since the presence of a large number of NPCs on screen would have caused the game to slow down. In response to the criticism that NPC behavior had been too simplistic in ''Morrowind'', Bethesda developed the Radiant AI system for ''Oblivion''. NPCs were designed to make choices, rather than complete scripted routines, to achieve predetermined goals. The manner in which goals such as eating, sleeping, reading, and speaking to others are fulfilled is dependent upon the environment, the choices of other NPCs, and programmed personality values. For example, an NPC whose goal is to find food may eventually resort to stealing from others, if they are given the opportunity and if it is in their character. These development mechanics allowed Bethesda to create NPCs who could engage in complex activities.


Audio

''Oblivion'' features the voices of
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...
,
Lynda Carter Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant, best known for her portrayal of Wonder Woman in the television series ''Wonder Woman'', aired on ABC and later on CBS from 1975 to 1979. Befo ...
,
Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...
, and
Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Known for his sophisticated villain roles, he was named by ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades in ...
, with celebrity acquisition and voice production being handled by
Blindlight Blindlight, LLC is a Los Angeles-based company providing Hollywood production services to the video game industry. Notable properties the company has contributed to include the ''Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Guild Wars, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, Des ...
. The voice acting received mixed reviews in the gaming press. While many publications praised it as excellent, others found fault with its repetitiveness. The issue has been blamed on the small number of voice actors and the blandness of the dialogue itself. Lead designer Ken Rolston found the plan to fully voice the game "less flexible, less apt for user projection of his own tone, more constrained for branching, and more trouble for production and disk real estate" than ''Morrowind''s partially recorded dialogue. Rolston tempered his criticism with the suggestion that voice acting "can be a powerful expressive tool" and can contribute significantly to the charm and ambiance of the game. He stated, "I prefer ''Morrowind''s partially recorded dialogue, for many reasons. But I'm told that voiced dialogue is what the kids want." ''Oblivion''s score was composed by series mainstay
Jeremy Soule Jeremy Soule ( ; born December 19, 1975) is an American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 60 games and over a dozen other works during his career, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ...
, a video game composer whose past scores had earned him a
British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
(BAFTA) award in the " Game Music Category" and two nominations for an
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
(AIAS) award for "Original Music Composition". The official soundtrack to ''Oblivion'', featuring 26 tracks spanning 58 minutes, was released in March 2006, via Soule's digital distributor DirectSong. Soule had worked with Bethesda and
Todd Howard Todd Andrew Howard (born 1970) is an American video game designer, Creative director, director, and Video game producer, producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the ...
during the creation of ''Morrowind''. In a press release announcing his return for ''Oblivion'', Soule repeated the words he had said during ''Morrowind''s press release: "The stunning, epic quality of ''The Elder Scrolls'' series is particularly compatible with the grand, orchestral style of music I enjoy composing the most." As in his compositions for ''Morrowind'', Soule chose to create a soft and minimalist score so as not to wear out users' ears. Soule stated that while composing the music, he did not imagine any specific characters or events; rather, he wanted it "to comment on the human condition and the beauty of life". In a 2006 interview, he related that this desire came as a result of a car accident that occurred during his composition of the score. He said, "I ended up rolling in my car several times on an interstate while flying headlong into oncoming traffic ... I felt no fear ... I simply just acknowledged to myself that I've had a good life and I would soon have to say goodbye to all of it in a matter of seconds." Soule sustained only minor injuries, but commented that his feeling during the crash—"that life is indeed precious"—remained with him throughout the rest of the composition.


Remaster

An internal
ZeniMax Media ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded in 1999 by Christopher Weaver and Robert A. Altman as the parent company for Weaver's video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. ...
presentation, dated to 2020 and released as part of the '' FTC v. Microsoft'' case in 2023, indicated that an ''Oblivion'' remaster, among other unannounced titles, was earmarked for a release in the 2022 fiscal year. On April 15, 2025, several in-game images, promotional art, and other materials were leaked from
Virtuos Virtuos Ltd is a video game development company headquartered in Singapore with studios across Asia, Europe, and North America. Virtuos specializes in game development and art production for AAA consoles, PC, and mobile titles – working as an ...
' websites through an accessible
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file repository. The images showed recognizable themes such as the player's first view of the outside world upon leaving the tutorial quest, the Imperial City and its surroundings, and several other highlights. On April 21, 2025, Bethesda released a promotional image on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
announcing a livestream on
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and
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the next day, confirming the leaks; the live announcement on YouTube was watched by more than 600,000 people. Shortly after the presentation began, the game was released on
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...
, and
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...
, in addition to day-one availability on
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, to generally positive reviews. The game reached 4 million players three days after release, with a peak of 216,000 concurrent players on
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
.


Marketing and release

''Oblivion''s public debut occurred on May 18, 2005, at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo) was an annual Trade fair, trade event for the video game industry organized and presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It was held principally in Los Angeles from 1995 to 2019, wit ...
(E3) in Los Angeles. The version shown at E3 was substantially finished; most of the content was already in the game, lacking only the polish that the final months of development would bring. Most viewers were impressed by ''Oblivions showing, and the game won a number of "best of" awards from a variety of game journalists, among them
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
's "RPG Game of Show", ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''s "Best Role-Playing Game", ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
''s "Best PC RPG", ''RPGFan''s "Overall Game of E3 2005", and the prestigious "Best Role Playing Game" in the 2005 E3 Game Critics Awards. A near-final build of ''Oblivion'' was shown at Microsoft's
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
press tent in January 2006, showcasing the game's exteriors. In the months prior to release, anticipation for the game ran high, with critics describing ''Oblivion'' as "the first next-gen game" only heightening attention. Pete Hines, vice president of public relations and marketing for Bethesda, said: "People were expecting the game to cure blindness and heal the sick." 2K Games had aimed for a late 2005 publication so that the game could be an
Xbox 360 launch title The Xbox 360 launch marked the release of the first high-profile seventh generation video game console. It was Microsoft's second foray in console development succeeding their 2001 launch of the original Xbox. Viral advertising and alternate re ...
. The official release date for the PC and Xbox 360 versions was originally November 22, 2005, but developmental delays pushed it back to March 20, 2006. A mobile phone version of the game, developed by Superscape and published by Vir2L Studios, was released on May 2, 2006. The PlayStation 3 version of the game (ported by
4J Studios 4J Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in Dundee. It has a second office located in East Linton. Founded in April 2005 by VIS Entertainment alumni Chris van der Kuyl, Paddy Burns and Frank Arnot, the company is best known ...
) was released on March 20, 2007, in North America and on April 27, 2007, in Europe. This version includes graphical improvements that had been made since the PC and Xbox 360 release, and was subsequently praised for its enhanced visual appeal. A PlayStation Portable version of the game was also in development before being canceled. At the 2007 E3, the ''Game of the Year'' edition for ''Oblivion'' was announced. In North America and Europe, the game was released in September 2007, for the Xbox 360 and PC, and in October 2007, for the PS3; in Australia, it was released in September 2007, for the Xbox 360 and PC, and in December 2007, for the PS3. It was also released on
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
on June 16, 2009. A 5th-anniversary edition of ''Oblivion'' was announced and released in North America in July 2011 and in Europe two months later. Xbox 360 and PC versions of ''
Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
'' and ''Oblivion'' double pack was announced for release in North America on April 3; however, it was not mentioned whether the bundled games include any of the downloadable content released for either game. ''Oblivion'' was also bundled with ''
BioShock ''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 ...
'' as a double pack on Xbox 360 and PC on July 7, 2009.


Rating change

On May 3, 2006, the
Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Soft ...
(ESRB) in North America changed ''Oblivion''s
rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...). Rating or rating system may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...
from T (Teen 13+) to M (Mature 17+), citing game content not considered in the ESRB review, i.e., "more detailed depictions of blood and gore than were considered in the original rating of the game, as well as the presence in the PC version of the game of a locked-out art file that, if accessed by using an apparently unauthorized third party tool, allows the user to play the game with topless versions of female characters." In response to the new content, the ESRB conducted a review of ''Oblivion'', showing to its reviewers the content originally submitted by Bethesda along with the newly disclosed content. The ESRB reported that Bethesda Softworks would promptly notify all retailers of the change, issue stickers for retailers and distributors to affix on the product, display the new rating in all following product shipments and marketing, and create a downloadable patch rendering the topless skin inaccessible. Bethesda complied with the request but disagreed with the ESRB's rationale. Some retailers began to check for ID before selling ''Oblivion'' as a result, and one California Assemblyman used the event to criticize the ESRB's inefficiency. Michael Zenke, editor of ''
Slashdot ''Slashdot'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''/.'') is a social news website that originally billed itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters". It features news stories on science, technology, and politics that are submitted and evaluated by site ...
'' games, remarked on the change's
chilling effect In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, th ...
, which punished developers for content they did not produce.


Additional content

Starting in April 2006, Bethesda released small packages of additional
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
(DLC) for the game from their website and over the
Xbox Live Marketplace Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) was a digital distribution platform previously used by Microsoft's Xbox 360 and formerly by the Xbox One. The service allowed users to download or purchase video games (including both Xbox Live Ar ...
. The first update came as a set of specialized armor for ''Oblivion''s ridable horses; released on April 3, 2006. Although gamers generally displayed enthusiasm for the concept of
micropayment A micropayment is a financial transaction involving a very small sum of money and usually one that occurs online. A number of micropayment systems were proposed and developed in the mid-to-late 1990s, all of which were ultimately unsuccessful. A s ...
s for downloadable in-game content, many expressed their dissatisfaction at the price they had to pay for the relatively minor horse-armor package on the Internet and elsewhere. Hines assured the press that Bethesda was not going to respond rashly to customer criticism. New releases continued into late 2006, at lower prices with more substantial content, leading to a better reception in the gaming press. Other small DLC packs include a set of houses themed after the game's factions, a new dungeon, and new spells that were absent in the initial release. ''Oblivion''s final content pack was released on October 15, 2007. '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine'' is an official expansion for ''Oblivion'' released on November 21, 2006. Downloadable on the Xbox Live marketplace for the Xbox 360 and available for retail purchase for PC users, the expansion content was included in the original version of the PlayStation 3 release. The expansion was developed, published, and released by Bethesda Softworks. The plot of ''Knights of the Nine'' centers on the rise of the sorcerer-king Umaril and the player's quest to defeat him with the aid of the lost crusader's relics. Although it made little change to the basic mechanics of ''Oblivion'', it was judged by reviewers to be a brief but polished addition to the game's main plot. '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles'' was released on March 27, 2007, for Windows and Xbox 360, and December 8, 2007, for PlayStation 3. The expansion offers more than 30 hours of new adventuring, and features new quests, voice acting, monsters, spells, armor, and expanded freeform gameplay. It features a new land "that
layers Layer or layered may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Layers'' (Kungs album) * ''Layers'' (Les McCann album) * ''Layers'' (Royce da 5′9″ album) *“Layers”, the title track of Royce da 5′9″’s sixth studio album * Layer, a ...
can watch change according to
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
vital life-or-death decisions." ''Shivering Isles'' takes place in the realm of madness ruled over by the Daedric prince Sheogorath. The player is tasked by Sheogorath with saving the realm from an approaching cataclysm known as the Greymarch.


Reception

''Oblivion'' received universal acclaim from critics, and became a commercial success. The game had shipped 1.7 million copies by April 10, 2006, sold over 3 million copies by January 2007, and over 3.5 million by November 2011. Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, a market research firm, estimates that the game has sold 9.5 million copies worldwide. Reviewers praised the game for its impressive graphics, expansive game world, and schedule-driven NPCs. ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
'' editor Kristan Reed stated that the game "successfully unites some of the best elements of RPG, adventure and action games and fuses them into a relentlessly immersive and intoxicating whole." ''GameSpot''s
Greg Kasavin Gregory A. Kasavin (; born August 21, 1977) is an American video game writer and designer at Supergiant Games. Before entering game development, Kasavin was the site director and executive editor at the gaming news website ''GameSpot'' for ove ...
wrote that compared to ''Morrowind'', which was one of the best role-playing games he has seen in years, "''Oblivion'' is hands-down better, so much so that even those who'd normally have no interest in a role-playing game should find it hard to resist getting swept up in this big, beautiful, meticulously crafted world." ''
X-Play ''Xplay'' (previously ''GameSpot TV'', ''Extended Play'', and ''X-Play'') was a television program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, aired on G4 in the United States and has aired on '' G4 Canada'' in Canada ...
''s Jason D'Aprile stated, "All the games in this series have been known for their sheer vastness and freedom of choice, but the ''Elder Scrolls IV'' takes that concept and runs with it." ''
GamesTM ''GamesTM'' (styled as ''gamesTM'') was a British multi-format video games magazine. The first issue was released in December 2002 and the magazine was still being published monthly in English and German up until the last edition was published on ...
'' editors noted that the game is "heavily steeped in RPG tradition, however, its appeal stretches far beyond the hardcore RPG demographic thanks to its ease of play, boundless ambition and focused attention to detail." Scott Tobias of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' wrote that the game is "worth playing for the sense of discovery—each environment looks different from the last and requires a nuanced reaction—makes the action addictive." ''GameZone'' staff commented on how one can spend a lot of the gameplay time by leveling up his or her character, doing various quests, and customizing the character before even starting the main quest. ''IGN'' editor Charles Onyett praised the game's storytelling and "easy to navigate menus". Despite the praise, Patrick Joynt of ''
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conte ...
'' criticized the conversations between in-game NPCs and the player: "When an NPC greets you with a custom piece of dialogue (such as a guard's warning) and then reverts to the standard options (like a guard's cheerful directions just after that warning) it's more jarring than the canned dialogue by itself." ''
GameRevolution Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male ...
''s Duke Ferris noted that "the voices occasionally repeat" but was impressed that the developers managed to fit a lot of voiced dialog into the game, where most is "high-quality work". GameSpy's Justin Speer criticized the "disruptive loading stutters while moving across the game world" and long loading times. Speer noted several miscellaneous bugs, such as unintended floating objects and unsynchronized lip-synching and speech. Onyett of ''IGN'' criticized the disjunction between enemies that scaled up according to the player's level and not their combat abilities or NPC allies, the loading times and the imprecision in the combat system, but stated that "none of those minor criticisms hold back ''Oblivion'' from being a thoroughly enjoyable, user-friendly, gorgeous experience with enough content to keep you returning time and time again." ''Oblivion'' won a number of industry and publication awards. In 2006, the game was awarded the title "Game of the Year" at the G-Phoria Video Game Awards and at the Spike TV Video Game Awards. At the 24th annual Golden Joystick Awards, ''Oblivion'' was awarded "PLAY.com Ultimate Game of the Year", "Xbox Game of the Year", and "ebuyer.com PC Game of the Year". The game was titled the best role-playing game of 2006 by ''1UP.com'', G4, ''IGN'', ''GameSpy'', ''GameSpot'', ''GameRevolution'', and ''
PC Gamer US ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
''. The editors of ''
Computer Games Magazine ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...
'' presented ''Oblivion'' with their 2006 "Best Technology" and "Best Role-Playing Game" awards, and named it the second-best computer game of the year. They summarized it as "an unforgettable masterpiece". In 2007, ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' magazine rated ''Oblivion'' number one on their list of the top 100 games of all time. During the
10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards The ''10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards'' was the 10th edition of the Interactive Achievement Awards, an annual awards event that honored the best games in the video game industry during 2006. The awards were arranged by the Academy of ...
, the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
awarded ''Oblivion'' with " Role-Playing Game of the Year" and "Computer Game of the Year", along with receiving nominations for " Overall Game of the Year", and outstanding achievement in " Character Performance - Female" (
Lynda Carter Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant, best known for her portrayal of Wonder Woman in the television series ''Wonder Woman'', aired on ABC and later on CBS from 1975 to 1979. Befo ...
), "
Game Design Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...
", " Gameplay Engineering", " Original Music Composition", and "
Sound Design Sound design is the art and practice of creating auditory elements of media. It involves specifying, acquiring and creating audio using production techniques and equipment or software. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking ...
". In addition to the awards won by the game itself, Patrick Stewart's voicework as Uriel Septim won a Spike TV award, and the musical score by composer Jeremy Soule won the inaugural
MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
for "Best Original Score" through an international popular vote.


References


Further reading

* * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elder Scrolls Iv: Oblivion, The 2006 video games 2K games 4J Studios games Action role-playing video games Bethesda Game Studios games Oblivion Fantasy video games Gamebryo games Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year winners Open-world video games PlayStation 3 games Role-playing video games Single-player video games Spike Video Game Awards Game of the Year winners Spike Video Game Award winners Superscape games Ubisoft games Video games about cults Video games about demons Video games about parallel universes Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Jeremy Soule Video game sequels Video games using Havok Video games with customizable avatars Video games with gender-selectable protagonists Vir2L Studios games Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox Cloud Gaming games