Celebrating its 11th birthday today, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been released in seven different editions of the game across eight platforms. Magically, that's somehow fewer editions of the game than I had imagined. Perhaps Bethesda has shown some restraint after all.
I'll give you a minute to guess which game does wear the crown for the highest number of re-releases. Yes, it's still Skyrim, which overtook Resident Evil 4 with the release of the Anniversary Edition for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and the most recent trio of Xbox consoles in November 2021. The Anniversary Edition could be argued to be the definitive edition of the enduring RPG, as it contains the visual upgrades from the Special Edition, the Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn DLCs, 500 unique additions from the Creation Club, and a new fishing minigame. Indeed, the game was simply lacklustre til we had fishing.
Check out these excellent wins and fails from Skyrim here!
Though 11 years has passed since we finally awoke on the back of that cart on our way to Helgen, there's still so much to discover in Skyrim. Modders show their commitment to the game with absolutely astonishing creations like Skyros, which transforms Tamriel into Westeros. If you're not too much of a sightseer, there's the mod that adds Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor's nemesis system, totally overhauling those random combat encounters you get on the road.
Skyrim is so significant that the stories behind the game warm the cockles of your Briar hearts. Like the fact that the Giants strolling the hills in just two strides are actually modelled after the artist's father. "I did not want the player attacking them because they looked 'aggressive' or monstrous. I wanted them to look like gentle shepherds who lived for 200+ years and slept under the stars," explained Jonah Lobe.