In a little bit of a confusing scenario, Bethesda has confirmed thatThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Anniversary Editionwill not simply be appearing on Xbox Game Pass for no charge as some previously assumed. With theSkyrim Anniversary Editionrelease just a week away, Bethesda finally gave out some tidbits regarding price and upgrading.
It appears that with theAnniversary Editionplayers will not only getThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Editionwith its next-gen framerate and resolution, but in addition will receive “every piece of Creation Club contentreleased at the time of theAnniversary Edition’s launch, including additional quests, armor and gameplay modes.” Upgrading from theSpecial Editionto theAnniversary Editionwill cost players an MSRP of $19.99, while just buying theAnniversary Editionwill cost a solid $49.99.
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Bethesda is throwing gamers a bone however, as the developer is providing a free Xbox Series X/S upgrade forSkyrim Special Editionon November 11 which won’t require the newAnniversaryversion of the game. Plus, owners of theSpecial Editionwill be receiving some Creation Club content for free in the form of theintroduction of Survival Mode and Fishingon November 11 as well.
Some may scoff and see this as a slight towards the goodwill Xbox, and by extension Bethesda, have built up with gamers since their merger earlier this year as not only have Xbox exclusives been steadily arriving day-and-date on Game Pass,but one can find most of Bethesda’s back catalogon the service as well.
With the same day updates toSpecial Editionhowever, it does seem that Bethesda is trying to stay in gamers' good graces by at least offering some of the updates that theSkyrimAnniversary Editionis receiving. Still, when gamers hear that all new Bethesda games will be arriving day one on Xbox Games Pass, it’s hard not to expect that that would include anAnniversary Editionlike this as well.
At the end of the day, for gamers who are yearning for the entireSkyrimexperience, orhave never playedSkyrimat all, picking upSkyrim Anniversary Editionis the way to go. If not, and they’re just looking for an excuse to take down some dragons, then the small additions and tweaks to theSpecial Editionshould suffice.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Anniversary Editionwill be available on November 11 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
