Skip to main content PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES Search PC Gamer View Profile Movies & TV Gaming Industry PC Gaming Show Newsletter Signup Community Guidelines Affiliate Links Meet the team About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine Subscription Why subscribe? Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99View Oblivion Remastered Baldur's Gate 3 Marvel Rivals Oblivion Remastered could never 'hold up against modern masterpieces like Elden Ring', according to Ex-Blizzard boss, 'I would love to be proven wrong, but I'm not' Elie Gould 23 April 2025 I don't think the bar has moved that much. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Bethesda) It only took a few hours for Oblivion Remastered to sail past 120,000 concurrent players on Steam, and even hit an all-time peak of 182,298 earlier today. But despite all the hype and excitement surrounding the remaster, ex-Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra doesn't seem to think it's a winner. "I'm sceptical about 20-year-old remasters," Mike Ybarra, former Blizzard president, says on social media. "What was once fantastic, now remastered, will never hold up against modern masterpieces like Elden Ring. The bar has simply moved from safe open-world RPGs to what Elden Ring brought us all. I would love to be proven wrong. But I'm not." 2025 games: This year's upcoming releases Best PC games: Our all-time favorites Free PC games: Freebie fest Best FPS games: Finest gunplay Best RPGs: Grand adventures Best co-op games: Better together "I don't mean soulslike, I mean the discovery, the classes, the combat system, etc," Ybarra clarifies. "Just a new level of quality." You may like How excited are we to replay a shinier version of Oblivion 19 years later? Oblivion Remastered sails past 120,000 concurrent players on Steam just a few hours after launch It's a pretty scathing read that doesn't really hold up. Yes, Elden Ring was incredible, but it didn't actually have a lasting effect on how RPGs are approached, much like how Breath of the Wild didn't change how developers fill open-world environments. Assassin's Creed Shadows has a huge but shallow open world, and it performed pretty well, achieving the second-highest day-one sales revenue for an Assassin's Creed game. But Ybarra doesn't just take issue with whether Oblivion Remastered can hold its own with modern RPGs. "I think we've had so many 'remasters' that nostalgia is limited," Ybarra says. "I could be wrong. But I think the gaming community wants fresh and new more than ever. I'm skeptical about 20 year old remasters. What was once fantastic, now remastered, will never hold up against modern masterpieces like Elden Ring. The bar has simply moved from safe open world RPGs to what Elden Ring brought us all. I would love to be proven wrong. But I'm…April 22, 2025 Oblivion Remastered offers a massive visual update with new real-time lighting, character models, ambient details like insects and fish, and redesigned menus and interfaces. While that alone may not be too exciting, Virtuos does seem to modernise certain old features, such as the levelling system, which is now inspired by Skyrim's. The third-person camera has been updated with a reticle and functionality, and you can now sprint. But sometimes it's important to know when to exercise restraint and not change old features. While lockpicking and persuasion have new visuals, both have retained their original weirdness and difficulty. And the NPC dialogue may have a couple of new recordings, but the old, awkward conversation timing will be left in place. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. I'll always be first in line to call out lazy remasters or even remakes, but you can't accuse Oblivion Remastered of being out of touch when it's the fourth on SteamDB's concurrent player count in the last 24 hours and has shot to the top of Steam's best sellers list. Never underestimate a millennial gamer's love for horse armour. News Writer Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. How excited are we to replay a shinier version of Oblivion 19 years later? Oblivion Remastered sails past 120,000 concurrent players on Steam just a few hours after launch Despite the $50 price tag, Oblivion Remastered shoots straight to the top of Steam's best sellers Oblivion Remastered live coverage: Launch info, reactions, and latest news Thank Todd: The Oblivion remaster is here and you can play it right now Hot damn: The Oblivion Remaster is 125 GB, 2600% heavier than the original game from 2006 Latest in RPG Oblivion Remastered could never 'hold up against modern masterpieces like Elden Ring', according to Ex-Blizzard boss, 'I would love to be proven wrong, but I'm not' The best birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered You don't need an Oblivion Remaster, you need Boblivion, the mod that makes Oblivion Bob Praise the Nine, Oblivion Remastered doesn't make you grind your minor skills to level efficiently, and increasing Endurance boosts your hit points retroactively Bethesda gave Oblivion Remastered game keys to the entire Skyblivion development team and 'made it clear that they have no intention of shutting down our project' Oblivion Remastered doesn't officially support mods, but the mods are rolling in anyway Latest in News Oblivion Remastered could never 'hold up against modern masterpieces like Elden Ring', according to Ex-Blizzard boss, 'I would love to be proven wrong, but I'm not' Intel has released a free 'performance boost for low-latency workloads like gaming' for Core Ultra 200S processors You don't need an Oblivion Remaster, you need Boblivion, the mod that makes Oblivion Bob Praise the Nine, Oblivion Remastered doesn't make you grind your minor skills to level efficiently, and increasing Endurance boosts your hit points retroactively The core of the new Dungeons & Dragons rules have been released into the Creative Commons so you can use them when you publish your own D&D material RPG Tenderfoot Tactics removed from Xbox Store in solidarity with pro-Palestine boycott: 'We call on others in our community to do whatever they can to fight this historic injustice' HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads Best graphics card for laptops in 2025: the mobile GPUs I'd want in my next gaming laptop Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most Best 14-inch gaming laptop in 2025: The top compact gaming laptops I've held in these hands Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I've tested Old Skies review Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2 review Origin Neuron gaming PC review Thrustmaster T598 direct drive racing wheel review Corsair Frame 4000D review PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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