Bethesda finally announced the long awaited sequel to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, over the weekend, and although details are pretty scant at this point, there are a few juicy titbits for fans of the long running series to snack on.
Firstly, it is being developed by long time guardians of the Elder Scrolls IP, Bethesda Game Studios. Not only did Bethesda Game Studios bring us The Elder Scrolls: Arena, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and pretty much everything else TES related in-between, but we also have them to thank for Fallout III.
These are all great games, although, the most recent releases from the developer share one cutting fault which many gamers have bemoaned; the use of the Gamebryo engine, and all the clumsy animations and ridiculous facial rendering it is famous for. Although Oblivion in particular was widely praised for its boundary pushing visuals, the Gamebryo engine’s trademark flaws were evident, and became even more noticeable in Fallout III.
Thankfully, Bethesda has built an entirely new engine for Skyrim. “Seeing lots of speculation about [the Elder Scrolls V] game engine. It’s brand new… and it’s spectacular!”, read a post on Bethesda’s Twitter page yesterday. Executive producer Todd Howard has confirmed that significant investment has been put into recruiting new talent to ensure that characters and animations are significantly better than in previous games.
The game will take place in a fictional Nordic realm called Skyrim, located on the continent of Tamriel. There will be dragons and they will fear someone call Dovahkiin, and an excerpt from the trailer indicates that the game will be set after The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which is to be expected:
“You should have acted. They’re already here. The Elder Scrolls told of their return. Their defeat was merely a delay. From the time after Oblivion opened, when the sons of Skyrim would spill their own blood.”
Of course, lots more is expected to be revealed in the coming months, but for now you can rest assured that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is due out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2011 – a date most publishers usually steer well clear of due to Activision claiming dominion over that week with its annual Call of Duty releases.
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