The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is 15 years old. Bethesda Game Studios released the open-world RPG worldwide on November 11, 2011, for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and the studio marked the anniversary yesterday with new artwork by Karl Fitzgerald. Check out the official post down below:
The Game Awards also marked the date yesterday morning, pointing out that the game launched on 11.11.11:
How Bethesda Marked 15 Years
The official Elder Scrolls account released the Skyrim Anniversary Creations bundle yesterday afternoon. It gathers 5 Creations from Bethesda's Verified Creators, and the studio says they cover a new cause to fight for, a new companion, new depths to explore, new weapons and a new player home:
The account is also running a giveaway for a set of 3 Skyrim prints from Poster Posse, with 5 winners to be picked on November 18. Bethesda Game Studios then shared behind-the-scenes footage of designer Emil Pagliarulo recording the "Fus Ro Dah" shout that is still in the game, alongside Todd Howard and Mark Lampert:
What Skyrim Is
Skyrim is the 5th main entry in The Elder Scrolls series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in 2006. It is set in Skyrim, the cold, mountainous northern province of Tamriel, 201 years after Oblivion. The player is the Last Dragonborn, prophesied to defeat Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon who has returned to destroy the world.
Skyrim was the first Elder Scrolls game to put dragons in the open world. They spawn in the wilderness, fight NPCs and creatures, and can attack towns. Killing one lets the Dragonborn absorb its soul and spend it on Thu'um, or dragon shouts, made of 3 words in the dragon language. Players find the words on word walls in dungeons and across the wilderness, and some are taught by characters such as the Greybeards, the monks who train the Dragonborn atop the Throat of the World.
The game lets players play in first or third person, wield a weapon or spell in each hand, and join factions such as the Companions, the College of Winterhold, the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. The main quest can be put off indefinitely, and the Stormcloak rebellion against the Empire runs as its own questline, with the player able to side with Ulfric Stormcloak or General Tullius.
From 2011 To The Anniversary Edition
Skyrim shipped more than 7 million units in its first week and passed 20 million by June 2013. Bethesda released 3 add-ons, Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn, which were bundled with the base game in a complete edition in June 2013. The remastered Special Edition arrived in October 2016 with all 3 add-ons and upgraded visuals, a Nintendo Switch port and the separate Skyrim VR came out in November 2017, and the Anniversary Edition added Creation Club content in 2021.
Bethesda's original trailer from 2011 is still on its YouTube channel:
What Comes After Skyrim
The next game in the series now has a name. Todd Howard revealed it during a video for Bethesda Game Studios' 40th anniversary, as covered in The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel Officially Revealed, Teasing Long-Rumored Setting. Sentinel is a port city in Hammerfell, homeland of the Redguards, and the reveal quoted a Moth Priest writing in 4E 206, 5 years after Skyrim. More on the setting is in Who Are The Redguards? A Hammerfell Lore Primer Before The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel.
Bethesda Game Studios also answered a fan's question about the game on X yesterday, writing, "We won't be sharing anything else related to Sentinel for some time yet."
What is your favorite Skyrim memory from the last 15 years, your first dragon fight, a faction questline or a mod setup you still play?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.