Summary
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredhas become the biggest debut hit of 2025 so far on Xbox Game Pass. A new look at how Xbox Game Pass games have been performing reveals thatOblivion Remasteredhas left some remarkable titles in its dust, despite being a remaster of a game nearly two decades old.
Oblivion Remasteredhas already had tremendous sales success, with over 100,000 gamers on Steam settling in to explore Cyrodiil within 24 hours of its release. Bethesda celebrated reaching four million players within three days, and by early May,Oblivion Remasteredhad already become the third-best selling gameof the year. However, its Xbox Game Pass success is what’s now being looked at.
According to data from Game Trends (viaTrue Achievements),Oblivion Remasteredhas left everything in its dust on Xbox Game Pass with regard to titles that have launched recently. When looking at games that launched in April on the service,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredtook the top spot, beating new titles likeClair Obscur: Expedition 33andSouth of Midnight.Oblivion Remasteredreportedly had 153.4% more players than the second-place game,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The publisher ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33said theOblivion Remasteredrelease hasn’t harmed the game, but it seems that, at the very least, more Xbox Game Pass members are checking outOblivion Remastered.
Oblivion Remastered Takes Over 2025 (So Far)
Most Popular Xbox Game Pass Debuts (2025)
If that weren’t impressive enough,Oblivion Remasteredhas already become the most popular Xbox Game Pass debut of the entire year thus far. It’sfollowed byAvowedandClair Obscur: Expedition 33, which launched in February and April, respectively.Oblivion Remasteredhas reportedly had 59.9% more players on Xbox Game Pass thannew IPAvowed. It’s also beaten games that have had a few months to gain numbers, likeNinja Gaiden 2 Black,EA Sports UFC 5, andBalatro, with the first two launching in January andBalatrojoining the service in February.
While these numbers are extremely impressive, they may not surprise fans who are familiar with the impactElder Scrollshas on the gaming industry.Elder Scrollsreleases have been hugely exciting moments in the past, with many players having planned time off in advance ofSkyrim’s release to fully immerse themselves in the game. It’s clear that gamers still loveThe Elder Scrollsand are more than happy to dive back into a classic.
However, that also underscores a concern that some game developers have voiced regardingshadow-dropping massive titles likeOblivion Remastered. Game studios are reportedly already nervously watchingGrand Theft Auto 6to avoid releasing around the same timeframe, and suddenly launching a hugely popular game likeOblivion Remasteredgives devs and publishers no warning to reschedule their own launches. While some industry members aren’t thrilled about games likeOblivion Remasteredsuddenly releasing, it certainly seems to have worked out for Bethesda and Virtuos.
