History VIdeoGame / TheElderScrollsVSkyrim

''Skyrim'' is the fifth entry in Creator/{{Bethesda}}'s ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' main series, released on November 11, 2011 [[note]]Or, as the advertising put it, [[MeaningfulReleaseDate 11.11.11]][[/note]] across multiple platforms.

It takes place [[TimeSkip 200 years after the events of]] [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion the fourth game]] in the northernmost part of the continent, home to the [[HornyVikings Nords]], as the province of Skyrim faces the return of [[BigBad Alduin the World Eater]] and his army of dragons. Alduin's return exacerbates the carnage of a bitter civil war between those who support the Empire of Tamriel, whose military presence in the snowbound province is overseen by General Tullius, and those who wish for independence, united under the leadership of Ulfric Stormcloak.

Into this enters what may be the last Dragonborn, a person born with the soul of a dragon, who has the ability to kill the dragons and absorb their souls. Under the guidance of Delphine and Esbern, two of the last Blades, and the monastic Greybeards of High Hrothgar, the Dragonborn must oppose Alduin and defeat him, lest [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt he destroy the world.]]

The first DLC for ''Skyrim'', ''Dawnguard'', was released in June 26, 2012 for Platform/XBox360, and then on the PC on August 3, 2012 after a slight delay (a deal meant that the DLC remained an exclusive for at least a month). Platform/{{PS3}} users saw it released February 26, 2013 after ''Dragonborn'' and ''Hearthfire''. The add-on puts the Dragonborn in the midst of a battle between a group of ancient vampires and a newly-reformed order of vampire hunters.

The second DLC for ''Skyrim'', ''Hearthfire'', was released for the Xbox 360 on September 4, 2012, on the PC on October 4, 2012, and the [=PS3=] on February 19, 2013. Within it you can adopt children and create your own dream house.

The third DLC for ''Skyrim'', ''Dragonborn'', was released for the Xbox 360 on December 4th, 2012, and then on the PC on February 5, 2013 while the [=PS3=] version was released on February 12, 2013. ''Dragonborn'' takes place on Solstheim (the island setting of the ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' expansion ''Bloodmoon''), and involves the Dragonborn facing off against the very first Dragonborn, who is seeking to return to Tamriel.

On April 15, 2013, [[http://www.bethblog.com/2013/04/15/moving-to-our-next-adventure/ Bethesda announced that there would be no further content]] for ''Skyrim'', citing that they were moving forward with their next project, but that the game would continue to receive technical support. The [[GameOfTheYearEdition Legendary Edition]] came out on June 4, 2013. It received one more release on September 10, 2013, bundled with the other four games in the series, for PC only.

Somewhat uniquely for a modern game, ''Skyrim'' has enjoyed a remarkable longevity for a strictly single player title, long after many of its contemporaries have either been forgotten or set aside for sequels. This is due to two factors: One is a string of re-releases. The first was an UpdatedRerelease using the version of the engine used in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', ''Skyrim: Special Edition'', which was was released for the Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/XboxOne, and PC on October 28, 2016. The console versions add support for PC mods, a la ''Fallout 4'', and {{Platform/Steam}} owners of ''Skyrim'' and all its [=DLCs=] [[note]]through the ''[[GameOfTheYearEdition Legendary Edition]]'' or otherwise[[/note]] received a copy of ''Special Edition'' for free.

In addition, a teaser of the game appeared in the reveal trailer of Platform/NintendoSwitch, complete with trademark message, in October 2016. Both Nintendo and Bethesda confirmed that ''Skyrim'' will be headed for the Switch during the Switch presentation event in January 2017. Like the ''Legendary Edition'' and ''Special Edition'', the Switch port contains all three [=DLCs=]. The Switch version also includes some weapons and armor from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. It was released on November 17, 2017, and features Toys/{{amiibo}} support and motion controls.

At E3 2017, another [=PS4=] version with virtual reality support was announced, titled ''Skyrim [=VR=]''. It launched the same date as the Switch version, including all the [=DLC=].

At E3 2018, Bethseda announced and launched an InteractiveFiction adaptation of the game exclusively for Amazon Alexa devices, titled the ''Very Special Edition''. [[https://www.amazon.com/Bethesda-Game-Studios-Special-Edition/dp/B07D6STSX8 Yes, it’s real.]]

On August 19, 2021, Bethesda announced at Quakecon the ''Anniversary Edition'' of the game, which will also see release on the Platform/PlayStation5 and Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS. It was released on November 11, 2021, [[MilestoneCelebration exactly ten years since the release of the original version]].

The other factor contributing to ''Skyrim's'' long term popularity is its ''massive'' modding community. ''Skyrim'' is a strong contender for the title of Most Modded Game ever[[note]]{{VideoGame/Minecraft}} is another strong one, but determining exact numbers is pretty difficult[[/note]], and its community is still in full swing a decade after release. At the [[http://www.nexusmods.com Mod Nexus]], the original version of ''Skyrim'' holds the crown for most mods produced, with a total of nearly ''69,000'' mods, and if you add in the mods for ''Special Edition'' (which on its own is sitting pretty at ''second'' place), the total jumps to over 120,000, with more than ''four billion'' downloads between the two! For comparison, ''Fallout 4'' clocks in third place at just over a third of that. There are whole [=YouTube=] channels that have been extremely successful that are solely devoted to showcasing ''Skyrim'' mods. The release of the Special Edition, particularly with it being in a far more stable 64 bit[[note]]The original PC release used 32 bit architecture, which limited the game to using only 4 gigabytes of RAM. This meant that a heavily modded game would eventually become unstable to an almost game breaking degree.[[/note]] gave the modding community a definite shot in the arm, allowing mods to become even more ambitious. A list of troper-recommended mods has been added [[JustForFun/SkyrimRecommendedMods here]].

Additionally, as the support of the regular ("Legendary") edition ended in 2013 with no further expansion packs and updates, support for the Special Edition is still ongoing, with more bugfixes (some of which fix things that mods fixed six years before), and also content, with Creation Club, concurrently released with ''Fallout 4's'' version, an entire Microtransaction system and a variety of small quests and items (and some absurdly GameBreaker enchantments) now added through in-store payments.

The game runs on a heavily modified Gamebryo engine called the ''Creation'' engine, complete with all the GoodBadBugs that Bethesda fans have come to know and love. The soundtrack is once again provided by Music/JeremySoule. The PC version was also the debut title for the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} Workshop, an integrated way to browse and upload mods, which are subscribed to and downloaded automatically via the Steam client. This had never been attempted on such a large scale before.

The first DLC for ''Skyrim'', ''Dawnguard'', was released in June 26, 2012 for UsefulNotes/XBox360, and then on the PC on August 3, 2012 after a slight delay (a deal meant that the DLC remained an exclusive for at least a month). UsefulNotes/{{PS3}} users saw it released February 26, 2013 after ''Dragonborn'' and ''Hearthfire''. The add-on puts the Dragonborn in the midst of a battle between a group of ancient vampires and a newly-reformed order of vampire hunters.

Somewhat uniquely for a modern game, ''Skyrim'' has enjoyed a remarkable longevity for a strictly single player title, long after many of its contemporaries have either been forgotten or set aside for sequels. This is due to two factors: One is a string of re-releases. The first was an UpdatedRerelease using the version of the engine used in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', ''Skyrim: Special Edition'', which was was released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and PC on October 28, 2016. The console versions add support for PC mods, a la ''Fallout 4'', and {{UsefulNotes/Steam}} owners of ''Skyrim'' and all its [=DLCs=] [[note]]through the ''[[GameOfTheYearEdition Legendary Edition]]'' or otherwise[[/note]] received a copy of ''Special Edition'' for free.

In addition, a teaser of the game appeared in the reveal trailer of UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, complete with trademark message, in October 2016. Both Nintendo and Bethesda confirmed that ''Skyrim'' will be headed for the Switch during the Switch presentation event in January 2017. Like the ''Legendary Edition'' and ''Special Edition'', the Switch port contains all three [=DLCs=]. The Switch version also includes some weapons and armor from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. It was released on November 17, 2017, and features Toys/{{amiibo}} support and motion controls.

On August 19, 2021, Bethesda announced at Quakecon the ''Anniversary Edition'' of the game, which will also see release on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS. It was released on November 11, 2021, [[MilestoneCelebration exactly ten years since the release of the original version]].

The other factor contributing to ''Skyrim's'' long term popularity is its ''massive'' modding community. ''Skyrim'' is a strong contender for the title of Most Modded Game ever[[note]]{{VideoGame/Minecraft}} is another strong one, but determining exact numbers is pretty difficult[[/note]], and its community is still in full swing a decade after release. At the [[http://www.nexusmods.com Mod Nexus]], the original version of ''Skyrim'' holds the crown for most mods produced, with a total of nearly ''69,000'' mods (and if you add in the mods for ''Special Edition'', which on its own is sitting pretty at ''second'' place, the total jumps to over 120,000), with nearly ''four billion'' downloads between the two! For comparison, ''Fallout 4'' clocks in third place at just over a third of that. There are whole [=YouTube=] channels that have been extremely successful that are solely devoted to showcasing ''Skyrim'' mods. The release of the Special Edition, particularly with it being in a far more stable 64 bit[[note]]The original PC release used 32 bit architecture, which limited the game to using only 4 gigabytes of RAM. This meant that a heavily modded game would eventually become unstable to an almost game breaking degree.[[/note]] gave the modding community a definite shot in the arm, allowing mods to become even more ambitious. A list of troper-recommended mods has been added [[JustForFun/SkyrimRecommendedMods here]].

The other factor contributing to ''Skyrim's'' long term popularity is its ''massive'' modding community. ''Skyrim'' is a strong contender for the title of Most Modded Game ever, and its community is still in full swing a decade after release. At the [[http://www.nexusmods.com Mod Nexus]], the original version of ''Skyrim'' holds the crown for most mods produced, with a total of nearly ''69,000'' mods (and if you add in the mods for ''Special Edition'', which on its own is sitting pretty at ''second'' place, the total jumps to over 120,000), with nearly ''four billion'' downloads between the two! For comparison, ''Fallout 4'' clocks in third place at just over a third of that. There are whole [=YouTube=] channels that have been extremely successful that are solely devoted to showcasing ''Skyrim'' mods. The release of the Special Edition, particularly with it being in a far more stable 64 bit[[note]]The original PC release used 32 bit architecture, which limited the game to using only 4 gigabytes of RAM. This meant that a heavily modded game would eventually become unstable to an almost game breaking degree.[[/note]] gave the modding community a definite shot in the arm, allowing mods to become even more ambitious. A list of troper-recommended mods has been added [[JustForFun/SkyrimRecommendedMods here]].

** ''VideoGame/AmorousAdventures''
** ''VideoGame/BeyondReach''
** ''VideoGame/BeyondSkyrim''
** ''VideoGame/ConanHyborianAge''
** ''VideoGame/{{Enderal}}''
** ''VideoGame/{{Falskaar}}''
** ''VideoGame/TheForgottenCity''
** ''VideoGame/{{Frostfall}}''
** ''VideoGame/{{Inigo}}''
** ''VideoGame/InterestingNPCs''
** ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheDragonborn''
** ''VideoGame/{{Lucien}}''
** ''VideoGame/OrdinatorPerksOfSkyrim''
** ''VideoGame/RelicsOfHyrule''
** ''VideoGame/RequiemTheRoleplayingOverhaul''
** ''VideoGame/{{Rigmor}}''
** ''VideoGame/{{Vigilant}}''

The other factor contributing to ''Skyrim's'' long term popularity is its ''massive'' modding community. ''Skyrim'' is a strong contender for the title of Most Modded Game ever, and its community is still in full swing a decade after release. At the [[http://www.nexusmods.com Mod Nexus]], the original version of ''Skyrim'' holds the crown for most mods produced, with a total of nearly ''64,000'' mods (and if you add in the mods for ''Special Edition'', which on its own is sitting pretty at ''second'' place, the total jumps to nearly 90,000)! For comparison, ''Fallout 4'' clocks in third place at just around half of that. There are whole [=YouTube=] channels that have been extremely successful that are solely devoted to showcasing ''Skyrim'' mods. The release of the Special Edition, particularly with it being in a far more stable 64 bit[[note]]The original PC release used 32 bit architecture, which limited the game to using only 4 gigabytes of RAM. This meant that a heavily modded game would eventually become unstable to an almost game breaking degree.[[/note]] gave the modding community a definite shot in the arm, allowing mods to become even more ambitious. A list of troper-recommended mods has been added [[JustForFun/SkyrimRecommendedMods here]].

On August 19, 2021, Bethesda announced at Quakecon the ''Anniversary Edition'' of the game, which will also see release on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS. It was released on 11, 2021, [[MilestoneCelebration exactly ten years since the release of the original version]].