Much like it did with the post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 4, the video game publisher and developer Bethesda has now announced that Skyrim Special Edition will be receiving its very own Survival Mode in order to ratchet up the difficulty for players of the fantasy title. At the moment, the feature is only available through Steam for those who opt in through beta testing, but it's set to launch for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One sometime next week, with the first week being free for all players. However, Bethesda has yet to unveil pricing beyond that.

According to a blog post by Bethesda, Skyrim Special Edition's Survival Mode is set to add new challenges like hunger, fatigue, and cold in order to create a new strategic dimension for players to think about when exploring throughout their journey. Hunger can be thwarted by eating – the consumption of raw meat can give characters food poisoning, though – fatigue can be stopped by sleeping, and colder areas can be more tolerable for those wearing warm clothes or armor.

In addition to the new natural and elemental limitations of hunger, fatigue, and cold, those who are vampires and werewolves will have certain advantages when it comes to staying alive in Skyrim Special Edition's forthcoming Survival Mode. For instance, vampires and werewolves will be able to restore hunger by feeding on victims, and they will also get cold much slower than someone who isn't so supernaturally inclined.

Furthermore, Skyrim Special Edition's Survival Mode disables both fast travel and automatic health regeneration, reduces characters' carrying capacity, and it also forces players to sleep in a bed if they want to level up. Not to mention, new diseases and afflictions will also appear throughout the game, while shrines no longer automatically remove diseases, as they will require a gold offering in order for them to be cured.

All things considered, Skyrim Special Edition's Survival Mode could be exactly the reason that fans are looking for to dive back into Bethesda's sprawling fantasy world. While the feature has been confirmed for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, it will be interesting to see whether or not the company includes Survival Mode for the Nintendo Switch version when the game launches for the Big N's console in November.

Skyrim Special Edition is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Bethesda