As one of the best-selling games of all time, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has been ported to every console possible. After starting on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 back in 2011, the game has branched out to the following generation of consoles including the Nintendo Switch thanks to the remastered Special Edition of the game that released in 2016.
Next year will be Skyrim's 10th anniversary, so as a widely popular game, some fans are expecting huge plans from Bethesda for its celebration, possibly including game releases to commemorate it. But looking at Bethesda's track record with past game anniversaries, it's unclear what players should expect from Skyrim's 10th anniversary.
Skyrim 10th Anniversary Edition
It's all but inevitable that Bethesda will port Skyrim to the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles. After an easy money grab by sending the hit game to the Switch, Bethesda likely has plans to do the same thing with next-gen consoles because players will buy it. However, since nothing formal regarding Skyrim and next-gen have been announced yet, some fans are speculating that Bethesda has plans to release a Skyrim 10th Anniversary Edition, possibly with further improved graphics.
In 2016, on Skyrim's 5th anniversary, the game had sold over 30 million copies and followed up with Special Edition, a remastered version of the game that bundled together all DLCs into one package, and would come to the PS4 and Xbox One as well as Switch and a VR edition for PlayStation VR later on.
So, it's possible that a Skyrim 10th Anniversary Edition is on the way, but the real question is whether or not it would come with enhanced graphics or simply be a repacked version of Special Edition for next-gen consoles. The graphics shown in Special Edition are now somewhat outdated, with some modders still releasing character aesthetic and scenery enhancement mods to keep up with modern standards. Perhaps Bethesda should utilize these to its advantage to release an improved Anniversary Edition next year, but for now, that's one of Skyrim's many mysteries.
Don't Expect Much
When it comes to celebrating anniversary editions of its games, Bethesda doesn't have a strong track record. In a manner not unlike Skyrim, Oblivion received a 5th Anniversary Edition of the game that repackaged it together with the DLC packs Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles, but on its 10th anniversary, nothing was done to celebrate. It was the same case with Fallout 3, Bethesda's first entry in the Fallout franchise. A long while ago, Morrowind's 10th anniversary landed in 2012 and all that happened was a 50% discount on Steam. It's possible that all Skyrim will get come its anniversary in 2021 is a discount, so expectations should be tempered.
Elder Scrolls 6
Anything to do with TES 6 is the least likely of them all, simply because The Elder Scrolls 6 is likely still years away, according to Bethesda. The company's highest priority right now is Starfield's development, and even that doesn't have a release date or window yet. It is worth mentioning that Bethesda has been known to occasionally drop game announcements only months away from the launch, such as with Fallout 4. While there is a minuscule chance that the studio has plans to surprise Elder Scrolls fans this way, they shouldn't hold their breath for anything related to the next installment anytime soon.
While it doesn't seem likely that Skyrim may receive anything more than a simple port to next-gen consoles for a 10th Anniversary Edition, Fallout: New Vegas' 10th anniversary is only days away on October 19th. Anyone hoping that Bethesda has special plans in store for the fifth Elder Scrolls installment should see what the studio has plans for the Fallout hit, if anything at all.
Skyrim is out now on all major platforms.