Bethesda fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has received tons of mods since being released all the way back in 2011, including a recent mod that mocks Fallout 76. However, it is the upcoming mod, Skyrim Together, that could be the most popular mod yet, as it adds multiplayer to the hugely successful game.

The brainchild of a group of software engineers, the Skyrim Together mod has been in the works for a while now. It is designed to be a "true" Skyrim multiplayer experience that supports co-op gameplay in both the standard and special editions of the game. It should let players progress through the game's entire story, taking down dragons and flinging fireballs at guards with pals. It's not designed to be a competitor to The Elder Scrolls Online (the official MMO), for although each Skyrim Together server supports up to 64 players, smaller groups of 2-8 players are recommended.

In order to make the mod work as it was intended, the Skyrim Together team needs to test it. The recently launched closed beta will help the team "collect crucial data such as logs, warnings, errors, crash reports and analytics which [it] can use to further improve this mod."

To get into the closed beta, players will need to download a client which is only accessible to those who subscribe to the Skyrim Together Patreon. Every tier will get access (beginning at $1) and it seems like many have taken the mod's dev team up on that offer, as the developers are making $18,963 a month from the platform.

It's important to note that Patreon's API is currently not working properly, and access may not be immediate. The team has also confirmed that the closed beta will run for up to a month and then it will become an open beta.

The response to this Skyrim mod shows that there is a huge appetite for a traditional Elder Scrolls story with co-op multiplayer support. Fans of the fantasy franchise seem more than willing to pay for it, too. And although the Skyrim Together mod may scratch an itch, many will be hoping that Bethesda takes notice of this and decides to incorporate some ideas from it into The Elder Scrolls 6.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Source: Patreon - Skyrim Together