The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Last Dragonborn quests to defeat Alduin the World-Eater.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a fantasy action role-playing game from Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks, arrived on Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2011. As the fifth major chapter in The Elder Scrolls series, it follows 2006's *Oblivion* and was built with the Creation Engine. The development team chose a rugged, mostly sub-arctic setting for Skyrim, a contrast to *Oblivion*'s Imperial Province of Cyrodiil—a choice game director Todd Howard felt made the world more distinctive.
The story takes place 201 years after *Oblivion* in Skyrim, the northernmost province of Tamriel on the planet Nirn. Players control the Last Dragonborn, whose mission is to stop Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon fated to bring about the world's end. Quests and character development through skill improvement are central, and the open world allows players to travel to any discovered location at any time, even ignoring the main storyline indefinitely.
Upon release, critics praised Skyrim for its character progression, world design, visuals, and dual-wielding combat. Complaints focused on melee combat, dragon fights, and widespread technical problems at launch. The game sold over seven million copies in its first week and surpassed 20 million units by June 2013. Widely regarded as one of the greatest games ever made, it influenced later fantasy and open-world titles.
Three downloadable content packs followed: *Dawnguard*, *Hearthfire*, and *Dragonborn*, bundled with the base game as the Legendary Edition in June 2013. A remastered Special Edition, featuring all three DLCs and graphical upgrades, released in October 2016. A Nintendo Switch port arrived in November 2017, alongside *Skyrim VR*, a separate virtual reality version. The Anniversary Edition, combining the remaster with additional Creation Club content, launched in 2021–2022. A sequel, *The Elder Scrolls VI*, is currently in development.
**Gameplay**
Skyrim is a fantasy action role-playing game viewable from first- or third-person perspectives. Players freely explore Skyrim, an open world inspired by Scandinavia, with wilderness, dungeons, caves, cities, towns, fortresses, and villages. Faster travel options include riding horses, paying for rides at city stables, or using a fast-travel system to instantly move to previously discovered locations.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Bethesda SoftworksNintendo Switch version co-published by Nintendo
- Director
- Todd Howard
- Producer
- Ashley Cheng · Craig Lafferty
- Designer
- Bruce Nesmith · Kurt Kuhlmann · Emil Pagliarulo
- Programmer
- Guy Carver
- Artist
- Matthew Carofano
- Writer
- Emil Pagliarulo
- Composer
- Jeremy Soule
- Series
- The Elder Scrolls
- Engine
- Creation Engine
- Platforms
- Windows · PlayStation 3 · Xbox 360 · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 5 · Xbox Series X/S · Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre
- Action role-playing
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Skyrim is a cold and mountainous region in the north of the continent of Tamriel, traditionally divided into nine administrative sections called 'holds', each governed by a jarl from a larger town. The landscape is littered with forts, camps, and ruins, some built by the now-extinct race of the Dwemer, or Dwarves. The Nords view Skyrim as their homeland, though members of other races populate it as well, including Dark Elf refugees from the neighboring land of Morrowind, which was devastated by a volcanic eruption, and the Reachmen, a tribal faction. The game was developed using the Creation Engine, and the team opted for a rugged, largely sub-arctic world after Oblivion's Imperial Province of Cyrodiil, which game director and executive producer Todd Howard considered more unique by comparison.
The player character, the Last Dragonborn, can absorb the souls of dragons to use powerful spells called 'dragon shouts' or 'Thu'um'. Each shout contains three words in the dragon language, and strength varies depending on how many words have been spoken. Words can be learned by visiting 'word walls' in dungeons or around the wilderness, or taught by different characters, and are unlocked by spending absorbed dragon souls. Dragons are generated randomly in the world and will engage in combat with NPCs, creatures, and the player; some may attack cities and towns when in their proximity.
Three downloadable content (DLC) add-ons were released: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn, which were bundled along with the base game into the 'Legendary Edition' released in June 2013. A remastered version subtitled Special Edition, containing all three DLC add-ons along with a graphical upgrade, was released in October 2016; a port for the Nintendo Switch was released in November 2017 alongside a separate virtual reality-only version titled Skyrim VR. The remastered version was bundled with additional Creation Club content and released as the Anniversary Edition in 2021–2022.
Reader's Guide
Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise for its character advancement, world design, visuals, and the ability to dual-wield in combat. Criticism targeted the melee combat, dragon battles, and numerous technical issues at launch. The game shipped over seven million units within the first week of its release and had sold over 20 million units by June 2013. It is considered one of the greatest video games ever made, and is credited as influencing later fantasy and open-world games. The game continues the open world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to travel to discovered locations in the game world at any time, and to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely. A sequel, The Elder Scrolls VI, is in development.
Did You Know?
- The game is set 201 years after the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
- The player can absorb dragon souls to use powerful spells called 'dragon shouts' or 'Thu'um'.
More in Role-Playing Games of the 2010s, Part 4 1-24
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