After weeks upon weeks of rumors, the worst-kept secret in gaming,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, was finally revealed by Bethesda this week, and what’s more, it was shadow-dropped, too. The entire incident started on April 21, when Bethesda posted an ominous image on its social media channels and told fans to tune in the following day for a special livestream. To no one’s surprise, it turned out that this livestream was anOblivion Remasteredannouncement event. Bethesda provided a 20-minute overview of the newly-unveiled game and confirmed that it would be released on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5, and PC later that day.
The fact thatThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredexists and is actually playable right now is, without a doubt, a very big deal. For years, fans have been asking Bethesda to re-release its seminal 2006 RPG,TES 4:Oblivion, for modern platforms in some shape or form. While the game was already playable on PCs and Xbox consoles via backwards compatibility, it wasn’t available natively on current-gen PlayStation systems, and its gameplay and graphics hadn’t aged that well. Taking that into account, Bethesda’s decision to not only announce, but alsosimultaneously release a remasteras highly-requested as this was an incredibly bold move. That said, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened this year, asNinja Gaidenfans will undoubtedly remember.
Oblivion Remastered and Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Have Launched Under Very Similar Circumstances
Back in January, Koei Tecmo Games andTeam Ninja releasedNinja Gaiden 2 Black, an enhanced re-release of a hard-as-nails 2008 action game from the Xbox 360 generation. On the surface,Ninja Gaiden 2 BlackandThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastereddon’t have a lot in common with each other, aside from being launched in the same year. However, there are actually more similarities between the two than one might think, at least with regard to their release strategies.
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Was Shadow-Dropped During the 2025 Xbox Developer Direct
Ninja Gaiden 2 Blackwas not a game that Koei Tecmo gave an extensive marketing budget to. Instead, it was shadow-dropped during a presentation, much likeOblivion Remastered. On January 23,Microsoft hosted its third annual Xbox Developer Direct, where it provided players with an in-depth look at four upcoming games that were landing on Xbox and Game Pass. Prior to the showcase’s air date, Microsoft kept the identity of one of these four games under wraps. This mystery title, it turned out, wasNinja Gaiden 4and, alongside its announcement, Microsoft surprisingly revealed an all-new fifth game,Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.
After the Xbox Developer Direct ended,Ninja Gaiden 2 Blackwas released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass, and PC on the same day. The game, players soon discovered, was an upgraded Unreal Engine 5 version ofNinja Gaiden Sigma 2(the PS3 port,not the original Xbox 360 edition ofNinja Gaiden 2) with additional gameplay adjustments and improved visuals.Ninja Gaiden 2 Blackwas labeled by Koei Tecmo as a remaster in its marketing materials, but many considered it to be more of a remake. The game’s graphics were not only overhauled compared to its predecessor, but the entire title was rebuilt on a new engine.
Oblivion Remastered and Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Have a Few Things in Common
Coincidentally,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredhas been dubbed a remakeby some gamers, despite having the word ‘remaster’ in its name. The visual fidelity of the game has been greatly improved compared to the 2006 original, and its gameplay systems have been tweaked, as well. The similarities betweenOblivion RemasteredandNinja Gaiden 2 Blackdon’t end there, though. Like the Team Ninja-developed action game, Bethesda’s recently-released remaster was created in Unreal Engine 5 and, as previously mentioned, it was launched onto Xbox Game Pass.Ninja Gaiden 2 BlackandOblivion Remasteredmay appeal to different audiences, but the fact that they were shadow-dropped onto Microsoft’s subscription service reinforces the idea that more Game Pass games may adopt this release strategy in the future.
