Gaming

Former Blizzard President “Skeptical” Of 20-Year Old Remasters Like Oblivion

April 24, 2025 - By admin

Summary

Former Blizzard president skeptical of 20-year-old remasters like Oblivion due to evolving standards.
Gamers prove Bethesda’s exec wrong as Oblivion Remastered soared to top sellers list quickly.
Oblivion Remastered praised by gamers as more than just a remaster, showing it’s worth the price.

Just yesterday, Bethesda rocked the gaming world by announcing — and releasing — The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on consoles and PC.

While most RPG fans might have been looking forward to it ever since it was rumored to be in development, there’s one high-profile game developer who’s not exactly a fan.

Original Oblivion Designer Doesn’t Like Title Of The New One

Justice is not served!

Blizzard Entertainment’s Former President Says Old Remasters Will Never Hold Up To Games Like Elden Ring

The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered Knight — Image Via Bethesda

In a rather surprising move, former Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra commented on X that he’s “skeptical” of 20-year-old remasters. While he didn’t mention The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered per se, it’s plainly obvious he was referring to Bethesda’s RPG.

Ybarra said, “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.” Ybarra added he’d “love to be proven wrong’ though thinks he’s not.

Ybarra, who was also a former corporate vice president at Microsoft, added that gamers have seen so many remasters that “nostalgia is limited.” The exec though admits that he could be wrong, though he thinks the gaming community wants “fresh and new more than ever.”

Given The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered skyrocketed to the top sellers list on Steam just hours after being released proves Ybarra’s assumptions were quite erroneous. Mind, this isn’t even counting the sales on PS5, Xbox Series X|S or Game Pass numbers.

Bethesda Gave Free Copies Of Oblivion Remastered To These Modders Recreating Oblivion in Skyrim

Even after the release of the official remaster, Bethesda does not intend to shut down the fan project.

Ybarra’s statement kind of proves how out of touch suits are with what gamers actually want. It’s not a case of gamers not wanting to see remasters or re-releases, but more on whether these remasters are worth the price, or if they’re shameless cash-grabs.

Based on what gamers have been saying about Oblivion Remastered, it’s a worthy re-release, and some might even call it a full-fledged remake than just a remaster given how much Bethesda has upgraded to the game’s visuals, gameplay mechanics and more.

In other news about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, there’s a newfound exploit that lets players max out stats with ease.