Summary
Theworst kept secret in the video games industryis finally out. After numerous leaks,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredisfinally available to play, and everybody is loving it. While it’s called a remaster, the sheer quality of the 2025 release is more akin to a ground-up remake. It’s clear that there’s a market for remakes of classic RPGs, as it has already surpassed 180,000 concurrent players mere hours after launch.
Despite these numbers, and the buzz generated online, there are some that think that there’s no longer a market for these kinds of remakes. FormerBlizzardpresident Mike Ybarra thinks that in a world where the likes ofElden RingandBreath of the Wildhave changed a genre, a remake of an almost 20-year-old game won’t work.
Mike Ybarra Thinks The RPG Genre Has Evolved Past Oblivion Remastered
“I’m skeptical about 20 year old remasters,” said Ybarra in a tweet. “What was once fantastic, now remastered, will never hold up against modern masterpieces like Elden Ring. The bar has simply moved from safe open world RPGs to what Elden Ring brought us all. I would love to be proven wrong. But I’m not.”
While Ybarra is right about Elden Ring raising the bar of RPGs, comparing it to Oblivion Remastered makes absolutely no sense. They share a genre, but the reason someone would play the latter is for nostalgia and to revisit the beloved world, which piqued their interest in RPGs. Whereas Elden Ring pushes the genre forward and improves upon FromSoft’s iconic formula.
The mistake Ybarra has made here is thinking that gamers only want one or the other. While I may want to experience the next evolution of RPGs today, I may want to go back to a comfy, safe RPG tomorrow. Video game executives may find this hard to believe, but their consumers have varying needs. It’s also why the Assassin’s Creed formula or FIFA remains popular despite every entry following the same path.
“I think we’ve had so many “remasters” that nostalgia is limited,” he continued. “I could be wrong. But I think the gaming community wants fresh and new more than ever.” With Oblivion Remastered garnering anall-time concurrent player count of 182,298at the time of writing, Ybarra has clearly been proved wrong. And that’s only on Steam, not counting Xbox Game Pass.
