Elder Scrolls Oblivion remake seemingly confirmed through developer leaks

For months now, rumors have swirled in the video games space about a potential remake or remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Insiders have hinted at its existence, and it even popped up in documents during the FTC’s lawsuit against Microsoft during the latter’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but now it seems to have been confirmed by an official source.

Savvy internet users stumbled upon a list of files uploaded to developer Virtuos’ website today, among which were screenshots of what seem to be a remastered version of Oblivion, with file names including “elder-scrolls-iv” and “oblivion.” Further digging revealed key artwork for the game, which seems to officially be called “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered,” confirming rumors from insiders that the game would be getting a remaster.

The screenshots show key locations throughout Cyrodiil, the location in which Oblivion takes place, including the game’s opening area and various towers, buildings, and towns. They’ve all had extensive reworks, too, with modern visuals much more akin to something like Skyrim, the game’s sequel. Images also included in the leak showed a deluxe edition of the game, which seems to come with cosmetic DLC.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was first released in 2006 on PC and Xbox 360, before being ported to PS3 the following year. It served as a huge vehicle for the series, which had seen modest success in prior entries, and paved the way for its follow-up in 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which went on to sell over 60 million copies in the years following its release.

According to rumors from various industry insiders, Oblivion Remastered is halfway between a traditional remaster and a remake, with the game’s core logic running on the original game’s Gamebryo engine and its graphics and improvements being implemented in Unreal Engine 5. Virtuos, the developer whose website leaked these images, is said to have been the primary developer on the game, and it’s reported to be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Insiders have also said that a reveal of the game is imminent – sometime before the end of the month – and that it would be released shortly after its reveal. This lines up with the timing of the leak, as the images all have upload dates of today, suggesting that a reveal could happen at any moment.