Bethesda today confirmed that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is not only in development, but it’s set to release for Xbox 360, Windows PC and PS3 on November 11, 2011. For those of you taking notes at home, that means The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will release on 11/11/11. Any bets on how many people will wait to buy it until 11:11 am that day?
The confirmation that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is on its way is fantastic news for millions of people, including our editor, whose favorite game of all time is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Prior to Bethesda’s official unveiling of Skyrim today, rumors had run rampant that The Elder Scrolls V would be an “official” sequel to Oblivion. Although Bethesda’s announcement didn’t outright confirm that, it appears to be true.
In the announcement trailer for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the narrator mentions repeatedly specific elements of Oblivion, such as the sons of Skyrim pouring out their blood to close the Oblivion gates, and the video itself shows an Oblivion gate carved into the rock. These definitely indicate a true “follow-up” to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, because previous game unveilings haven’t mentioned the immediately prior game.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will also utilize an entirely new game engine, according to the announcement, although it’s unclear whether it’s a proprietary engine or a modified Unreal engine.
“It’s exciting finally to announce the game,” said Todd Howard, Game Director on Skyrim, in the unveiling announcement. “We’ve been working for many years on Skyrim and the technology behind it. A new Elder Scrolls game has been a long time coming, and we can’t wait to show it off.”
Perhaps most intriguing in the announcement is that Bethesda confirmed dragons will be in the game, something that’s long been desired by fans of the series. To what extent The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will include dragons is still unknown, although they will likely play quite prominently into the game and gameplay considering the attention dragons are given in the trailer (which you can watch here).
Among the details that’s not confirmed yet for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is whether the game will be an MMO, as had also been rumored. That aspect, as well as several others, will likely be addressed in the February issue of Game Informer, which Bethesda has the official “revealing” story exclusive. Fortunately, that issue is only a few weeks away for subscribers.
Bethesda promised additional details will come out to the rest of us at that time, too, and we’ll definitely be talking a lot about this game leading up to its November 11, 2011, launch.
