Xbox drops surprise free download to celebrate new release

Xbox has just dropped a surprise free download for all players to enjoy.

This week, Bethesda surprised us all by shadowdropping the new remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Even after months of leaks and rumours, it still felt like it came as a shock.

This updated version features fresh visuals, new lighting, and other small facelifts to jazz it up for a modern audience.

It's hard to believe The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is nearly two decades old.

Simply put, it feels good to be able to talk about Oblivion again in 2025. I mean, we're all still waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6 anyway, so this should help with the wait.

To celebrate this new release, Xbox has designed a new The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered dynamic theme for use with Xbox Series X/S consoles.

It will appear on console dashboards and home screens once activated.

The theme features the main cover art, showing the fiery orange-red Oblivion logo behind a knight clad in heavy armour. There's a subtle fire effect and the knight moves slightly too.

Here's a demonstration of what the dynamic theme looks like, courtesy of Tom Warren, Senior Editor at The Verge:

Microsoft has released a new Xbox Dynamic Background for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. It's available for Xbox Series S / X owners

[image or embed]

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren.co.uk) April 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM

To use the theme for yourself, go to your Xbox console dashboard and head to settings. From here, go to General, then Personalisation, then My Colour and Backgrounds, and finally Dynamic Backgrounds.

Xbox typically releases new Dynamic Backgrounds whenever a new major release happens. In the past, it has launched Dynamic Backgrounds for games like Avowed, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

It's also done these types of themes for third-party games like Dead Space and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

It's a neat way of celebrating these new games and giving players a little extra customisation for their console home screens.

And the fact they're free is also a plus, as I feel we're long past the days of having to pay for themes on console dashboards.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is out now for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

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