The Elder Scrolls is a series of action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on free-form gameplay in an open world. Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim all won Game of the Year awards from multiple outlets. The series has sold more than 58 million copies worldwide.
Video game modding is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general modding. Mods may range from small changes and tweaks to complete overhauls, and can extend the replay value and interest of the game.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is an open-world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the third installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following 1996's The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, and was released in 2002 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. The main story takes place on Vvardenfell, an island in the Dunmer province of Morrowind, part of the continent of Tamriel. The central quests concern the demigod Dagoth Ur, housed within the volcanic Red Mountain, who seeks to gain power and break Morrowind free from Imperial reign.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is an open-world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios, and co-published by Bethesda Softworks, 2K Games and Ubisoft. It is the fourth installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following 2002's The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in 2006, followed by PlayStation 3 in 2007. Taking place within the fictional province of Cyrodiil, the game's main story focuses on the player character's efforts to thwart a fanatical cult known as the Mythic Dawn that plans to open portal gates to a demonic realm known as Oblivion.
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is an open-world, action role-playing game published by Bethesda Softworks. The second video game in the Elder Scrolls series, it was released on September 20, 1996, for MS-DOS, following the success of 1994's The Elder Scrolls: Arena. The story follows the player, sent by the Emperor, to free the ghost of King Lysandus from his earthly shackles and discover what happened to a letter sent from the Emperor to the former queen of Daggerfall.
Todd Andrew Howard is an American video game designer, director, and producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series.
Mod DB is a website that focuses on general video game modding. It was founded in 2002 by Scott "INtense!" Reismanis. As of September 2015, the Mod DB site has received over 604 million views, has more than 12,500 modifications registered, and has hosted more than 108 million downloads. A spin-off website, Indie DB, was launched in 2010 and focuses on indie games and news.
The development of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion began in 2002, immediately after its predecessor, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, was published. Rumors of a sequel to Morrowind started circulating in June 2004; the sequel's title was identified on September 10, 2004, the date of its official announcement. Oblivion was developed by Bethesda Game Studios, and the initial Xbox 360 and personal computer (PC) releases were co-published by Bethesda and Take-Two Interactive's subsidiary, 2K Games. According to interviews with Bethesda staff, the publisher-developer relationship—one of the few independent relations in the industry—worked well, and Bethesda was not subject to excessive corporate guidance. Initially scheduled for a November 22, 2005, release, in tandem with the Xbox 360's launch, Oblivion was delayed to a March 21, 2006, release for Windows PCs and the Xbox 360.
Fallout: New Vegas is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was announced in April 2009 and released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 on October 19, 2010. A spin-off of the main Fallout series, the game is set in a post-apocalyptic open-world environment that encompasses a region consisting of parts of Arizona, California, and Nevada. It is set in a world that deviated onto an alternate timeline thanks to Atomic Age technology, which eventually led to a global nuclear apocalypse in the year 2077 in an event referred to as "The Great War", caused by a major conflict between the U.S. and China over natural resources. The main story of New Vegas takes place in the year 2281, four years after the events of Fallout 3 and 204 years after the bombs fell. It is not a sequel but does feature the return of several elements found in Fallout 2.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2011.
Creation Engine is a 3D video game engine created by Bethesda Game Studios based on the Gamebryo engine. The Creation Engine has been used to create role-playing video games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76. A new iteration of the engine, Creation Engine 2, was used to create Starfield.
SureAI is a German team of video game developers, best known for creating several total conversion mods of Bethesda Softworks' The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series.
Crusader Kings II is a grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. Set in the Middle Ages, the game was released on February 14, 2012, as a sequel to 2004's Crusader Kings. On October 18, 2019, the video game became free to play. A sequel, Crusader Kings III, was released on September 1, 2020. Crusader Kings II stood out from earlier Paradox games in that it attracted a more widespread audience, contributing to the growth of the company.
The Elder Scrolls Online, abbreviated ESO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released for Windows and macOS in April 2014. It is a part of the Elder Scrolls series.
Nexus Mods is a site which allows users to upload and download "mods" (modifications) for computer games. It acts as a source for the distribution of original content. It is one of the largest gaming modification websites on the web, and, as of January 2022, had thirty million registered members. Founded in 2001 as a fan site, Nexus Mods was modified into the website TESSource in 2007. After that, the site has expanded to host mod files for many other modifiable PC games. As of June 2022, the Nexus Mods network supported 1733 games, with a single forum and a wiki for site- and mod-related topics. The website's hosting and publication of various mods has been covered in the gaming and computer press.
The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project (TESRenewal) is a fan volunteer effort to recreate and remaster the video games in The Elder Scrolls series. The team is best known for its Skywind project, which seeks to recreate the 2002 The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on the 2016 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Special Edition game engine, known as the Creation Engine.
Skyrimmodding refers to the community-made modifications for the 2011 fantasy role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. One of the most modded video games of all time, it has nearly 70,000 mod submissions on Nexus Mods and 28,000 in the Steam Workshop. Many of these mods were created for utility reasons, patching numerous bugs left in the game by Bethesda Softworks, while also improving the game's usability and character movement. Other mods add new quests and characters, or update the game's graphics and animations. As the vanilla game has a reputation for outdated mechanics, it is common for players to mod Skyrim even prior to their first playthrough.
Skyblivion is an upcoming open world action role-playing video game. It is a fan remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) developed in Bethesda Game Studios' Creation Engine as a total conversion mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011). It is scheduled to be released in 2025.
Tamriel Rebuilt is a third-party modification for the Bethesda Softworks 2002 role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Founded in 2001, the Tamriel Rebuilt project is a long-term, collaborative effort by volunteer modders to expand the content of Morrowind to include wider settings consistent with the setting of the Elder Scrolls' universe of Tamriel. Since foundation, the project has published eight releases for Morrowind, described as 'expansions', that allow the player to travel to and explore the mainland of the province of Morrowind, featuring new factions and quests. In 2006, Tamriel Rebuilt briefly launched a secondary project to recreate the province of Hammerfell in the succeeding Elder Scrolls game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, although the project was cancelled in 2009. Publications have praised Tamriel Rebuilt for the scope and detail of the project, the faithfulness of its additions to the source material of the original game, and noted their content has since eclipsed the size and features of the original game. The current release, Andaram, was published on 31 October 2023.
