We know that we joke around about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been ported over to every other gaming console since it came out on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 as well as the PC back in November 2011, but that’s not a knock on the game. There’s a good reason why Bethesda Game Studios continues to make Skyrim available to gamers on every console possible – because it sells. Now, over a decade ever since it came out, Todd Howard, the director and executive producer at the studio, has confirmed that the fan-favorite has sold over 60 million units already, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time.
When Todd Howard, the director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, first announced The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim at the Spike Video Game Awards in 2010, he promised a gaming experience that would captivate audiences for years to come. Looking back, Howard could not have been more accurate.
In a recent interview with IGN, Howard divulged that the fan-favorite is now one of the best-selling video games of all time.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a trailblazing open-world RPG, has shown unprecedented longevity. First unveiled for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in November 2011, it was re-released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016, landed on Nintendo Switch in 2017, and was recently made available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The continued expansion of Skyrim to different platforms testifies to its persistent appeal.
Skrim’s sales figures have doubled since 2016 when Bethesda confirmed it had shifted 30 million copies. What propelled the sales from this point is the myriad of updates and new versions released in the following years. 2017 saw the launch of a Nintendo Switch port, and in 2021, the Skyrim Anniversary Edition hit the market. These additional releases, combined with its availability on subscription services like Xbox Game Pass, have boosted its reach to millions of players, enhancing its standing as a gaming icon.
The scale of Skyrim’s success is monumental. To provide some context, it now ranks as the seventh best-selling game of all time, trailing behind industry behemoths like Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto 5.
Moreover, it’s the leader of its genre, outstripping other revered RPGs like The Witcher 3 and The Last of Us Part 2. But, the 60 million figure represents copies sold and doesn’t consider the total number of players, suggesting that Skyrim’s influence is even broader than these statistics suggest.
Bethesda’s approach to Skyrim, consistently updating and adapting it for new platforms and generations, illustrates the kind of forward-thinking strategy that other game developers may want to emulate, especially as it’s a strictly single-player experience, mods aside.
Howard highlights this in his interview, emphasizing the importance of designing games with long-term replayability from the start. He states, “we’re sitting here, it’s 12 years after Skyrim, we’re looking at a game that has over 60 million copies [sold], and all these people playing it, are still playing it.”
Despite being 12 years old, Skyrim remains a benchmark of quality and longevity in the gaming world. This success is a testament to Bethesda’s commitment to immersive storytelling, innovative gameplay mechanics, and continual adaptation to gaming’s evolving landscape.
As fans eagerly await the release of Starfield, the upcoming science-fiction RPG from Bethesda, Todd Howard’s reflections on Skyrim offer reassurance.
The aim is to create another qualitative and durable game that will captivate players as Skyrim has done, preferably one that’s as modder-friendly as well for better longevity.
Starfield, which is set to launch on September 6, across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and Xbox Game Pass, could indeed be the next long-lasting RPG to influence the gaming landscape in the years to come.
If nothing else, Starfield is already generating controversy about its performance, as is tradition with a Bethesda game.
Fingers crossed, Todd Howard doesn’t retire until we see The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 see the light of the day.
