The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is an expanded next-gen release of Bethesda Game Studios' open-world fantasy RPG, optimized specifically for Xbox Series X and S and continuing a decade-long history of the game's release across numerous platforms. Playing as the Dovahkiin, the last Dragonborn, the player explores the vast province of Skyrim full of mountains, caves, and ancient tombs, completes main and side quests, fights dragons using magic and the Voice, joins factions such as the Companions, the Dark Brotherhood, or the Mages and Thieves Guilds, and freely shapes their character through a skill system that grows with use, without the classic division into classes. The Anniversary Edition also includes dozens of previously paid Creation Club content packs, which add new quests, dungeons, items, companions, and minor gameplay enhancements similar to community mods.

On Xbox Series, the game runs at a higher resolution and with support for 60 frames per second, which significantly improves smoothness compared to the previous-generation console version, and loading times are noticeably shorter even in large cities and densely built-up areas. Jeremy Soule's atmospheric orchestral soundtrack, built on choral motifs, and Skyrim's snowy, harsh landscape with dynamic weather and changing seasons remain unmistakable and are among the most praised and most frequently cited elements of the entire series.

After its 2011 release, Skyrim fundamentally influenced the open-world RPG genre, and thanks to repeated remasters and ports to nearly every platform, it became one of the longest-running and most parodied titles in gaming history. The Anniversary Edition on Xbox Series shows that even more than a decade later, the world of Skyrim can still offer dozens to hundreds of hours of content and continues to attract both new and returning players, who even after all these years keep discovering as-yet-unexplored corners and side stories.

Why play it: For anyone wanting to spend dozens to hundreds of hours in an RPG world, Skyrim Anniversary Edition is an ideal entry point into one of the most influential open-world titles in history, even more than a decade after release.