Summary

  • Mike Ybarra doubts that there's a market for 20-year-old remasters like Oblivion Remastered.
  • The game surpassed 180,000 concurrent players shortly after launch, and that's only on Steam.
  • He compared it with Elden Ring, saying the bar has now been set too high.

The worst kept secret in the video games industry is finally out. After numerous leaks, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is finally available to play, and everybody is loving it. While it's called a remaster, the sheer quality of the 2025 release is more akin to a ground-up remake. It's clear that there's a market for remakes of classic RPGs, as it has already surpassed 180,000 concurrent players mere hours after launch.

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Despite these numbers, and the buzz generated online, there are some that think that there's no longer a market for these kinds of remakes. Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra thinks that in a world where the likes of Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild have changed a genre, a remake of an almost 20-year-old game won't work.

Mike Ybarra Thinks The RPG Genre Has Evolved Past Oblivion Remastered

"I'm skeptical about 20 year old remasters," said Ybarra in a tweet. "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."

While Ybarra is right about Elden Ring raising the bar of RPGs, comparing it to Oblivion Remastered makes absolutely no sense. They share a genre, but the reason someone would play the latter is for nostalgia and to revisit the beloved world, which piqued their interest in RPGs. Whereas Elden Ring pushes the genre forward and improves upon FromSoft's iconic formula.

The mistake Ybarra has made here is thinking that gamers only want one or the other. While I may want to experience the next evolution of RPGs today, I may want to go back to a comfy, safe RPG tomorrow. Video game executives may find this hard to believe, but their consumers have varying needs. It's also why the Assassin's Creed formula or FIFA remains popular despite every entry following the same path.

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"I think we've had so many "remasters" that nostalgia is limited," he continued. "I could be wrong. But I think the gaming community wants fresh and new more than ever." With Oblivion Remastered garnering an all-time concurrent player count of 182,298 at the time of writing, Ybarra has clearly been proved wrong. And that's only on Steam, not counting Xbox Game Pass.

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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

Action RPG Open-World Adventure Systems 20 8.6/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 82/100 Critics Rec: 86% Released April 22, 2025 ESRB Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Violence Developer(s) Virtuos, Bethesda Publisher(s) Bethesda Engine Unreal Engine 5
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