Skyrim: Anniversary Editionis right around the corner to once again sweep players away to the fantasy land for dozens of hours of dragon slaying, dungeon crawling, and questing. The newest edition brings with it a few visual enhancements that are part of a free update for theSkyrim: Special Edition, but its more eye-catching additions include new gameplay elements. Things like a fishing mechanic and survival mode are coming for free, alongside a number of other pieces of content that will all be bundled together that players can pay for.
The new content comes from the Creation Club that was introduced withSkyrim: Special Edition, following the feature’s addition toFallout 4just a few months prior. The game’s developers at Bethesda recently gave a look at some of thenew content coming toSkyrim: Anniversary Edition, and there seems to be a lot for fans of the classic RPG to be excited about. However, the Creation Club has not had a smooth history withThe Elder Scrollsfans, and there is still a lot more content coming toSkyrim: Anniversary Editionfrom the club that many aren’t aware of.
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Skyrim’s History With Paid Mods
Bethesda’s Creation Engine, used to develop bothThe Elder ScrollsandFalloutseries, is famous for how moddable it is. The engine, combined with the sprawling worlds of the games, gives players access to create an incredible amount of potential for modding communities. From new character options to new gear, player houses, spells, orentire overhauls likeThe Forgotten Citythat become their own full gamereleases, modding is deeply embedded in the identity ofThe Elder Scrolls. While the games surely would have enjoyed a long life of players on their own, modding has also helped games likeSkyrimmaintain their popularity for years after initial release.
This madeSkyrimseem like a great option for Valve to test a paid mods feature in 2015. The test program added a new feature to Steam’s built-in mod space Steam Workshop that allowed modders to lock their new content behind a price tag. The announcement was met with an intense backlash from fans, with players flooding the Steam Workshop with mods mocking the idea of paid mods, forum posts speaking out against the new feature, and a number of other forms of protest. The pushback received was so severe that Valve retracted the feature just a week later, and then just a couple of years later, Bethesda introducedSkyrim’s Creation Club.
The Introduction of the Creation Club
The Creation Club was also met with some pushback from the community when it was announced, but there were some important distinctions between it and Valve’s attempt at paid mods that madeSkyrimplayers warm up to it more quickly.
The first of these is that everything included in the Creation Club was new, meaning that players did not have to worry about mods they previously used suddenly being locked behind paywalls. The feature was also helped by Bethesda setting a range of the prices that players could expect to pay for content on the store, ranging from around $1.50 to $15.
Not only did this help players judge how much content would be in any mod that they purchased from the Creation Club, but it also helped players not have to worry about spending money on a mod that didn’t work or was overpriced. Bethesda only put the $15 price tag on a couple of theCreation Club’s biggest mods.
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Another strength of the Creation Club is that many of the included mods have been developed by Bethesda itself, while others are created in partnership with modders from the community who receive payment upfront for their work. This has allowed the included creations to be of a high level of quality, with most of the mods including a new quest for players to complete to get the gear. Some of them even include greatnods for series fans, such as music fromOblivion, or lore references to previous titles in the series.
The Mods Available Through the Creation Club
The mods available in the Creation Club cover a wide spectrum of content, with some unannounced new optionsbeing added forSkyrim: Anniversary Edition, like fishing. Quite a few of the mods are just visual modifications, such as alternative appearances for armor sets, nordic jewelry, and Dwemer armor for mudcrabs.
The service also has a few different mods with more utility, like custom players houses, new armor sets, wild tameable horses, and some new pets like the iconic Nix-Hound fromMorrowind. House mods on the service are similar to the player housing DLC forOblivion; in that there is one to cater to every type of player, whether they be magic-focused, a key member of the Thieves' Guild, or a warrior looking to display their might.
There are also mods with larger gameplay implications that add entirely new systems or features for players to experience. There is a survival mode, a zombie mod that sees the dead rise at night, one that allows players to set up camps for the night, and one that sees Khajiit merchants bringing new reagents from far away lands.
Players can also pick up a ton of mods thatadd new gear and equipment toSkyrim, such as the legendary Dawnfang sword, Umbra, and a variety of different magical staves. Some of the most popular mods in the Creation Club, however, are the larger quest mods that bring unique adventures to the land of Skyrim, complete with themed rewards and enemies.
All in all,Skyrim: Anniversary Editionhas a lot of potential to breathe some new life into the game, especially for players who haven’t taken the dive into modding. There is so much content coming from the Creation Club that there will likely be something for every type of player to enjoy, even if they don’t want to play in survival mode or are looking for a more traditional playthrough. Of course,whether or not the new edition is worth the moneywill vary from player to player, but either way it should be a great way for players to jump back into the game to revisit their favorite moments fromSkyrim.
Skyrim: Anniversary Editionreleases on November 11 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
