The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project
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''Skyrim'' modding is the community-made mods for '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' (2011), a fantasy
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
. One of the most modded video games of all time, it has over 70,000 mod submissions on
Nexus Mods Nexus Mods is a website that hosts computer game modifications and other user-created content related to video game modding. It is one of the largest gaming mod sites on the web, with 30 million registered members and 3146 supported games as of ...
and 28,000 in the
Steam Workshop Steam is a digital distribution service and storefront developed by Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 to provide video game updates automatically for Valve's games and expanded to distributing third-party titles in l ...
. Many of these mods were created for utility reasons,
patching Patching is a small village and civil parish that lies amid the fields and woods of the southern slopes of the South Downs in the National Park in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It has a visible hill-workings history going back t ...
numerous bugs left in the game 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 ...
, while also improving the game's
usability Usability can be described as the capacity of a system to provide a condition for its users to perform the tasks safely, effectively, and efficiently while enjoying the experience. In software engineering, usability is the degree to which a softw ...
and character movement. Other mods add new
quests A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a Plot (narrative), plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult Travel, journey towards a goal, often symbolic or Allegory, allegorical. Tales of quests figure promine ...
and characters, and update the game's graphics and animations, with an adult mod community also thriving. Several
total conversion Video game modding (short for "modifying") is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general ''modding''. A set of modifications, commonly c ...
mods have been made and others are in development. As the
vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...
game has a reputation for outdated mechanics, it is common for players to mod ''Skyrim'' even prior to their first playthrough. Traditionally, ''Skyrim'' mods have been largely free to download.
Valve Corporation Valve Corporation, also known as Valve Software, is an American video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, and digital distribution company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. It is the developer of the software distribution pl ...
walked back its attempts to add paid mods to ''Skyrim'', following backlash from fans. These mods made their way to the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
with the release of '' Skyrim: Special Edition'' (2016). Fans were also able to create an unofficial modding scene for the
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
version. Bethesda created a system of
microtransactions Microtransaction (mtx) refers to a business model where users can purchase in-game virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransactions ...
for paid mods, known as
Creation Club Creations (formerly Creation Club) is a system of microtransactions designed by Bethesda Game Studios for its games ''Fallout 4'' , ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition'' and ''Starfield (video game), St ...
, several of which were included in ''Skyrim: Anniversary'' (2021).


Popular mods

''Skyrim'' modding began soon after the game was released and are in significant numbers. As of August 2024, there were over 72,000 mods on Nexus Mods and more than 27,000 mods on the Steam Workshop, making it one of the most modded games ever. Some of the most basic and commonly used mods is the Unofficial Skyrim Patch, which simply address "a huge amount of bugs the official patches don't". One exists for both the main game and the official High Resolution textures patch. SkyUI, which completely redesigns the game's menu screen to make it easier to use, as well as providing menu systems for other mods, is also a popular and highly recommended mod. Other essential mods include A Quality World Map, which makes the game's map screen in higher resolution or enables replacement with a paper map, and Realistic Humanoid Movement Speed, which adjusts the player's movement speed to make walking faster and running slower. ''Skyrim – Special Edition'' was praised for allowing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players to download mods. When ''Skyrim'' was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2017, Bethesda said that it had no plans to support mods, although it expressed their wish to see it happen. Despite this, unofficial ''Skyrim'' mods were made through the Skyrim NX Modding Hub. Multiple mods were introduced to address the game's Paarthurnax quest, in which the Dragonborn is forced to kill allied NPC dragon Paarthurnax by Delphine, Grandmaster of the Blades, causing controversy over the lack of a choice to spare him despite his prominent role in aiding the Dragonborn. ''The Paarthurnax Dilemma'' added the option to force Delphine to stand down, while the later ''Paarthurnax – Quest Expansion'' used existing lines to expand the quest and make it sensible from both the Blades' and Paarthurnax's point of view, as well as add the option to spare the dragon. Many ''Skyrim'' mods add new content to the game. The ''Falskaar'' mod contains a DLC-length adventure with 26 new quests in a new continent, and was created as a job application; its creator was later hired by
Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington, and a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones (programme ...
. The ''Beyond Skyrim: Bruma'' mod, released in July 2017, adds the county of Bruma from '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'' (2006) and several new quests to the game. ''Skyrim'' is noted to have an active adult modding scene centered around the website LoversLab, which boasts around 1.5 million members. Its owner, Ashal, created a mod template for the game known as SexLab that enabled the creation of adult-themed mods by providing a "foundation of thousands of animations and basic game functions". While largely within the bounds of typical erotica, the mods also include numerous kinks, such as
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...
, with some containing a meaningful story. Many of these modders remain anonymous, as "expressing sexuality in public or in the media beyond holding hands and kisses" remains largely
taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
. The site's loose policies also allow controversial and disturbing content, although mods containing
pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...
are strictly banned.


Total conversions

Several projects have sought to construct new games using ''Skyrim'' as a base. SureAI is a German team of modders who have created several total conversion mods of ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...
'' series. They are the developers of '' Enderal: The Shards of Order'' (2016), a sequel to the ''Oblivion'' mod '' Nehrim: At Fate's Edge'' (2010) that was an early example of total conversion. It contains a darker story than ''Skyrim'' and was positively received by fans. ''
The Forgotten City ''The Forgotten City'' is a mystery adventure role-playing game developed by Australian developer Modern Storyteller and published by Dear Villagers with additional support from Film Victoria. It is a full game adaptation of the critically ac ...
'' (2021) was a narrative-focused adventure that originated in 2015 as a mod created by Nick Pearce that was awarded the
Australian Writers' Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video, and new media. The AWG was established in 1962, and has conferred the AWGIE Awards since 1968, ...
, before being remade as a standalone title and changed to an Ancient Roman aesthetic. The final version of the game, developed by a team of three people at Modern Storyteller and published by
Dear Villagers Plug In Digital is a French video game publisher and distributor. They were founded in 2012 and publish mid-market games for personal computers and consoles under the label Dear Villagers (formerly Playdius), such as The Forgotten City and Carava ...
, uses the
Unreal Engine 4 Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) is the fourth version of Unreal Engine developed by Epic Games. UE4 began development in 2003 and was released in March 2014, with the first game using UE4 being released in April 2014. UE4 introduced support for Physically ...
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 Nintendo Switch. A team of modders known as
The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project ''Skyrim'' modding is the community-made Mod (video games), mods for ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' (2011), a fantasy role-playing video game. One of the most modded video games of all time, it has over 70,000 mod submissions on Nexus Mods and ...
began an effort to remake both '' The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' (2002) and ''Oblivion'' in the ''Skyrim'' engine, resulting in ''
Skywind ''Skywind'' is an upcoming non-commercial fan-made Video game modding, mod for ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' (2011), which aims to recreate the world of ''The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' (2002) in the Creation Engine. It features improved s ...
'' and ''
Skyblivion ''Skyblivion'' is an upcoming open world action role-playing video game. It is a fan-made game remake of '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'' (2006) developed through the Creation Engine of Bethesda Game Studios as a total conversion mod for '' T ...
''. They are both still in development, with ''Skyblivion'' planned for a 2025 release. In response to concerns about fan-led project ''Skyblivion'' after the release of '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered'' (2025), Bethesda affirmed support for community efforts, and the ''Skyblivion'' team confirmed they would continue development. The entire ''Skyblivion'' team, which sent "all love and no hate" to Bethesda and
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 ...
' official remaster, was gifted by Bethesda free keys to ''Oblivion Remastered''.


TES Renewal

The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project, also known as TES Renewal, is a fan volunteer effort to recreate and
remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...
the video games in ''The Elder Scrolls'' series. The team is best known for its ''Skywind'' project, which seeks to recreate ''Morrowind'' on the ''Skyrim: Special Edition''
game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games which generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor. The "engine" terminology is akin to the term " software engine" u ...
, known as the
Creation Engine Creation Engine is a 3D video game engine created by Bethesda Game Studios based on the Gamebryo engine. The Creation Engine has been used to create role-playing video games such as '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'', ''Fallout 4'', and ''Fallou ...
. Another volunteer team works separately on ''Skyblivion'', a similar but separate project to remaster ''Oblivion'' on the more advanced ''Skyrim'' engine. A further project is ''Beyond Skyrim'', and another team also works on ''
Tamriel Rebuilt ''Tamriel Rebuilt'' is a third-party video game modding, modification for ''The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'', a 2002 role-playing video game published by Bethesda Softworks. Founded in 2001, the ''Tamriel Rebuilt'' project is a long-term collab ...
''. Prior to ''Skyrim''s release, the Renewal Project began with ''Morroblivion'', a ''Morrowind'' remaster on the ''Oblivion'' engine. The mod was publicly available on the team's website in 2008, and was coordinated through the ''Morroblivion'' website's forums. In 2012, after the release of ''Skyrim'', forum members began work on ''Skywind'', intending to begin the same result of ''Morroblivion'' but in the ''Skyrim'' engine. In late 2012 or early 2013, Zilav, a modder within the Renawal Project, attempted to
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
''Oblivion'' assets into the Creation Engine. In 2014, Zilav was joined by modder Monocleus, and they released a stable yet incomplete version of the project that would serve as the basis for further development. In November 2016, the project lead Kyle "Rebelzize" Rebel started to send out invites on Nexus Mods in the hope of attracting more volunteers. More people joined and the "Skyblivion – Return To Cyrodiil" trailer was published in December 2016, resulting in an influx of new volunteers.


Creations

In 2017, Bethesda announced the Creation Club, a storefront for ''
Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windo ...
'' and ''Skyrim'' in which players paid for new content, some of which was created by fans who were compensated by Bethesda for their work. This was compared by some critics to "paid mods", although Bethesda did not characterize them as such to avoid backlash. ''Skyrim: Anniversary Edition'' was released in November 2021, containing all 48 previously released Creation Club items as well as 26 new Creation Club items. In December 2023, Bethesda replaced Creation Club with Creations, which added new paid and free mods.


Controversy

In 2015, Valve Corporation announced a paid mods feature for
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 ...
, with particular emphasis being placed on ''Skyrim'' mods. This led to significant backlash, as well as a petition that gained more than 130,000 signatures.
Parodic A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
''Skyrim'' mods were even created to protest the decision, such as Beth the Beggar, a character that would ask money to the player. A week later, Valve reversed the decision, stating that "stepping into an established, years old modding community in ''Skyrim'' was probably not the right place to start iterating". Another controversy involving ''Skyrim'' mods occurred in 2021, in which Nexus Mods stated that they would no longer allow older mods to be removed from their website, following a 30-day grace period, in order to prevent problems with the Collections feature, which allows for batch downloading of mods. This caused a backlash due to modders losing control of their work, which led to many of them leaving Nexus Mods for other sites prior to the grace period ending. Arthmoor, one of the game's most popular modders, and the creator of Live Another Life, Open Cities Skyrim, and The Paarthurnax Dilemma, moved to the site AFK Mods instead, arguing that a modder had a legal right to delete their content.


See also

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Fan game A fan game is a video game that is created by fans of a certain topic or IP. They are usually based on one, or in some cases several, video game entries or franchises. Many fan games attempt to clone or remake the original game's design, game ...
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Fan labor Fan labor, also called fan works, are the creative activities engaged in by fan (person), fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works (fiction, fan fiction and revie ...
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User-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), emerged from the rise of web services which allow a system's User (computing), users to create Content (media), content, such as images, videos, audio, text, testi ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skyrim modding Video game modding