The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is the technically revamped version of the fantasy RPG from Bethesda Game Studios. In the open province of Skyrim, you create your own character, explore towns and wilderness, and decide for yourself which quests and factions to follow.

The edition includes the base game and the three major expansions Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn. Revamped lighting, additional graphical effects and mod support on consoles too set it apart from the original 2011 release.

Skyrim Special Edition was released on Oct 28, 2016 in Germany for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The PC launch in North America came on the evening of Oct 27.

On Nov 11, 2021, the optimized versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S were added. Owners of the older console versions received a free upgrade path.

Skyrim Special Edition is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. PlayStation 5 has its own digital PS5 version. Xbox labels the game as optimized for Series X|S and supports Smart Delivery.

The Switch 2 release from December 2025, by contrast, concerns Skyrim Anniversary Edition. It should not be equated with the original Special Edition for PC, PlayStation and Xbox.

Skyrim combines open exploration with combat, dialogue, quests and character development. You can follow main missions, explore caves and ruins, take on side quests or improve crafting skills. The game world leaves many paths open instead of setting a fixed order for all tasks.

The camera can be switched between first-person and third-person views. Skyrim is a single-player role-playing game with no regular co-op or multiplayer mode.

Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn are part of the Special Edition. Dawnguard covers the conflict between vampires and vampire hunters. Hearthfire adds homesteads and the ability to build your own houses. Dragonborn takes you to the island of Solstheim, where another foe of the Dragonborn awaits.

All three major expansions are already included and do not need to be purchased separately.

The PC version’s minimum hardware is an Intel Core i5-750 or AMD Phenom II X4-945, 8 GB RAM and a GeForce GTX 470 or Radeon HD 7870. Recommended hardware includes, among others, a Core i5-2400 or AMD FX-8320 with a GeForce GTX 780 or Radeon R9 290.

The originally published requirements list 12 GB of free storage and a 64-bit version of Windows.

Skyrim is a Nordic-influenced province of Tamriel with snow-covered mountains, forests, fortresses, villages and large cities. Off the beaten paths lie dungeons, tombs, Dwemer ruins and caves with their own enemies, treasures and tasks.

Travel on foot, on horseback and by fast travel leads through the same connected game world. The Dragonborn expansion also opens up the island of Solstheim.

You play a character who turns out to be Dragonborn and can absorb the power of the returning dragons. The conflict surrounding Alduin is the centre of the main story.

At the same time, a civil war between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks shakes the province. Its quests and numerous side plots can be followed independently of the main adventure.

Instead of committing to a fixed character class, you improve skills by using them. Swordsmanship, Archery, Sneak, Smithing, Enchanting and several schools of magic open up different playstyles.

As skills rise, additional perks are unlocked. This creates armoured melee fighters, silent archers, mages or hybrid builds.

In combat, you can combine one-handed and two-handed weapons, shields, bows and spells. You decide whether to attack enemies openly, take them out from the shadows or rely on Conjuration, Destruction and Restoration magic.

In combat against dragons, attacks from a distance and up close alternate. You can find, craft and enchant weapons and armour.

As Dragonborn, you learn Dragon Shouts, the so-called Thu'um. You discover their words on Word Walls and unlock them with collected dragon souls. The powers can knock enemies back, speed up your movement or trigger other special effects.

Shouts have their own cooldowns and can be combined with ordinary weapons or spells.

The major storylines alongside the Dragon quest include the Companions, the Mage College of Winterhold, the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. Each group offers its own quests, characters and locations.

You can leave the main story alone for a long time and instead explore towns, factions and small stories in the game world.

Skyrim Special Edition supports modifications that can add new quests, characters, environments, weapons or graphical changes. Bethesda also brought access to such content to PlayStation and Xbox with this version.

Availability and selection differ by platform. On PC, you can also use external tools to manage mods. Save games with mods enabled have a separate marker in the game.

The Special Edition includes Skyrim along with Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn. The Anniversary Edition builds on this base game and adds numerous Creation Club content, including additional quests, equipment and game systems.

The Anniversary upgrade is an add-on pack and not a separate successor. For Nintendo Switch 2, the Anniversary Edition was offered as a separate release.

The Special Edition modernised the visuals with volumetric lighting, dynamic depth of field, screen-space reflections and reworked water and snow effects.

For the later PS5 and Xbox Series versions, Bethesda mentions further graphical improvements and shorter loading times. The available display options depend on the respective console.

Skyrim Special Edition offers German on-screen text and German voice-overs. Other languages include English, French, Italian, Polish, Russian and Spanish.

The console versions can be played with a controller. On PC, mouse and keyboard as well as a controller are available.