WhenBethesda Game Studiosgave us one of gaming history’s most head-turning shadow drops with the launch ofThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remasteredasingle dayafter its announcement, the excitement was palpable from role-playing enthusiasts across the globe. Financial analysis quickly backed up the severity of that excitement, with Oblivion Remasteredselling more copies in 12 days than the 2006 original did in 15 months.
A month prior to that concrete sales-based data, Bethesda themselves dropped the mic with the revelation that four million people had played Oblivion Remasteredless than a week after its release. Now, we have the next big player-count update from the folks behindThe Elder Scrolls, (modern)Fallout, and thesort-of-strugglingStarfield.
Nine Million Champions And Counting
In an impressively straightforward Twitter post, Bethesda has revealed a tally of nine million players in total. The number will, of course, continue to rise in the months and years to come, and I really ought to emphasize the fact that this isplayer count, rather thantotal sales. But for a game that’s bound to thrive on the subscription-basedXbox Game Pass,which by definitionlowers the ceiling on actual purchases overall, I’ll hazard an educated guess that the budget-setting execs are pleased.
The appropriately startling Adoring Fan -whose death apparently ruined the lifeof TheGamer’s own Sam Hallahan - has had his hair suitably stylized into the number ‘nine’ to mark the occasion. It took me, like, two minutes to realize that’s what the artist was going for, but once I did, my own life changed forever.
Not to put a complete damper on the end of this news story, but it’s all the more important that we’re all aware of another Elder Scrolls moment this week: Julian LeFay,known to many of us as ‘The Father of Elder Scrolls’,has tragically passed away. While LeFay’s Tamrielic work primarily centered on Arena and Daggerfall, without his timeless influence, Oblivion wouldn’t be quite the marvel that it has become in its own right. Here’s to you, Julian.
