The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered sold more than 1.1 million copies on PS5, says Alinea Analytics. Players showed big interest at first. But almost half stopped playing after just 15 hours. This points to poor long-term retention.
Industry analyst Rhys Elliot notes that the game became Xbox’s third best-selling title on PlayStation 5 in 2025. It came behind Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Forza Horizon 5. Bethesda’s older games still draw buyers on rival platforms, even years later.
However, Elliot noted that the sharp drop in playtime suggests many buyers were not looking for a full replay of the lengthy role-playing game. Instead, a large number of players appeared to return for a short visit, driven by nostalgia, rather than committing to a long campaign.
BethesdaStudios on X thanked fans after Oblivion Remaster hit over 4 million players. Shows fans are engaging with game, even with all the talk about players dropping off quick.
https://x.com/BethesdaStudios/status/1915889058024222801
Several problems may have made things worse. Developers released the remaster without mod support. Mods have boosted replay value for other Bethesda games on consoles, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Starfield. Many players come back to these games years later because of mods that add new content and improvements.
However, there are also performance problems. Reports say the game has technical issues on different platforms, which may have caused some players to stop playing early.
People on Reddit complain the remaster is just prettier graphics on the old 2006 game. The core systems and world haven’t changed at all, unlike what fans want from today’s RPGs. Game doesn’t have any new unique modernization. Old players get bored super fast because of it.
Oblivion remastered is nothing but a disappointment.
byu/ssidiman inpcgaming
Deeper in Reddit threads, folks gripe about UI changes, like extra zooming needed for world and local maps. It breaks immersion and messes with habits from the original. A couple even dropped the game because of that.
Oblivion Remastered: What Went Wrong with Bethesda’s Remaster?
byu/Accomplished-Ask1617 inKotakuInAction
Many users on X (twitter) got offended “Body type” option rather than gender and raised the issue.
https://x.com/YorchTorchGames/status/1915954535706644957
https://x.com/NQ796/status/1915890424704618958
Even with these problems, Oblivion Remastered seems to have sold well, giving Bethesda more confidence to bring back other older games from its catalog.
Industry rumors suggest that Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas may also get remasters, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet.
At the same time, PC players are looking forward to Skyblivion. This fan-made project recreates Oblivion using the Skyrim engine. It is planned for release in 2026 and aims to offer smoother gameplay and improved features that address problems seen in the official remaster.
Oblivion Remastered proves that classic games can still sell well, but the quick drop in players shows a bigger problem. Without major updates or long-term support, it’s hard to keep today’s players interested for long.
