The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredwas a smash hit even after being shadow dropped, with 4 million players just days after its release. The success ofOblivion Remasteredshows that players are still hungry forThe Elder Scrolls, even if it’s been fourteen years sinceSkyrimwas released.
The Elder Scrollshas remained in the popular consciousness thanks toElder Scrolls OnlineandSkyrim’s modding support.Skyrim’sCreation Cluballows console players to install mods, and its easy tools allow countless mods to be created, from UI changes to remaking pastThe Elder Scrollsgames as mods. Mods have allowedSkyrimplayers to essentially refresh their game as they please, keeping its replayability for over a decade.Oblivion Remasteredunfortunately doesn’t have official mod support, but that hasn’t stopped determined modders from experimenting and finding their way around this barrier.
Bethesda Has No Mod Support For Oblivion Remastered
Modding Extended Skyrim’s Popularity
One of the reasons forSkyrim’s longevity is its modding support.Skyrimis easy to mod, and its mods are easily accessible. Bethesda’sCreation Clubhas made fanmade mods officially accessible, and massive fan projects likeSkyblivionare recreating entire games as mods. Modding has extended the life ofSkyrimfar beyond what is considered typical for a single-player game, and much of it has been because of its official mod support.
Fans were disappointed to hear thatOblivion Remastereddoes not have the same mod support that the original andSkyrimreceived. With no official mod support, there is unlikely to be a feature like theCreation ClubforOblivion Remastered. This is especially devastating for console players, asOblivion Remasteredmods can only be accessed on PC for the moment.
Adding Mods to Oblivion Remastered
Aside from making mods inaccessible to console players, Bethesda’s approach toOblivion Remastered’s modscomes with its own set of pros and cons. While no official support can make creating and installing mods more difficult, and mods may interfere with the game in unpredictable ways. Another issue is the possible effect no mod support will have onOblivion Remastered’s longevity. The positive to no official mod support is that mods are likely to not become paid in the future, unlike Creation Club mods.
Oblivion Remasteredmodders quickly discovered that many mods created for the originalOblivionstill work in the remaster. The remaster is basically a visual upgrade on top of the old engine that the original uses, so many ofOblivion’s mods are essentially backwards compatible. Players have access to essentiallydecades' worth of fan-created content to install inOblivion, although most of the mods that work are ones that don’t change the systems in the game, and don’t have anything to do with new features, such as the UI. Newer mods are being created by players for systems that were newly introduced inOblivion Remastered.
Installing mods forOblivion Remasteredis best done with a mod app like Vortex Mod Manager, which automaticallyloads mods intoOblivion Remasteredand installs them in the correct order. Mods forOblivion Remasteredcan be downloaded in the app on the game’s in-app mod page. While the longevity ofOblivion Remasteredmay suffer in the long run because of the absence of official mod support, it’ll likely remain popular untilThe Elder Scrolls 6’s release.Oblivionhas managed to retain its player base since its release 19 years ago, and it’s unlikely to dwindle any time soon.
