Grave Gamer News & Views — skyrim

Bethesda Gearing Up for Next Game; Skyrim DLC Comes to an End

The saga of Skyrim – the fifth and most successful entry into The Elder Scrolls series – is at its end.  After more than a year of supporting their fantasy RPG with updates and content (including a healthy dosage of story DLC), Bethesda is moving away from their “labor of love” and is ratcheting up production on a new, unannounced title.

In an open letter to fans on the Bethesda Blog, the studio revealed segments of their development team have been in pre-production on this project but now “that game is at the point where it requires the studio’s full attention to make it our biggest and best work yet.”

Despite its resounding financial and critical success, this next project is unlikely to be Skyrim’s follow up, given the team’s track record.  Instead, RPG fans may be plunged back into the Wasteland, if these rumors are to be taken at face value.  Be it Fallout 4 or, maybe just possibly, a brand new IP, the only sure bet is that we’ll be well into the next-generation of gaming before we once again get to feverishly dedicate a hundred-plus hours into Bethesda’s next immersive world.

Dragonborn by Jan Johan H.

The Embargo’s Over, PS3 Faithful: Skyrim DLC Finally Releasing

Better late as hell than never, eh?  After an exhausting wait for even the most weathered journeyer, Bethesda has announced Skyrim’s downloadable content is at last releasing for the PlayStation 3 next month starting with the Dragonborn expansion.

To date, the PS3 version of Skyrim has missed out on three separate DLC expansions that the Xbox 360 has already enjoyed and basked in, each originally planned for only a 30-day exclusivity period on Microsoft’s console.  Technical difficulties, delays, and several months of seething fan anger later and it was painfully clear Bethesda’s original plans went tits up.

Understanding the almost scalable wall of disappointment and frustration this has caused PS3 Skyrim users, Bethesda is offering a week long discount of 50% Off for each expansion as they launch on PSN.  Once Dragonborn is out of the gate, the company is backtracking by releasing the Hearthfire expansion for those with a penchant for medieval decorating, and then the Dawnguard DLC in all of its vampiric glory.

While Dragonborn’s PC date is marked down for February 5th, all three pieces of the PS3’s DLC are expected throughout the same month at unspecified dates.

New Skyrim DLC Incoming?  Monday Holds the Answer

The above image found its way in the Tweetsphere (if we’re not calling it that, we’re wasting our time) courtesy of the folks at Bethesda alongside a brief message: “Full Trailer on 11/5.”

Earlier this month, a Eurogamer forum user was rifling around through Skyrim’s 1.8 patch source code and dug up a handful of interesting files pertaining to possible upcoming DLC content.  The data entitled the content “Dragonborn” which – wouldn'tcha knowit? – is also a name Bethesda Softworks felt inclined to trademark recently.

Now, this could all be one big coincidence and Bethesda could be teasing something else entirely, but that sort of thinking is exactly how you blue-ball a perfect fangasm into submission.  Go ahead, fuel the dungeon crawling beast within and jump to the only happy conclusion: more Skyrim DLC on the way!

‘Course, last time we speculated on (and got overly excited for) prospective Skyrim DLC, that resulted in something akin to a medieval version of This Old House.  Actually, might wanna dial back that fangasm until Monday rolls around.

UPDATE: Well, Monday rolled around and this rumor finds itself certifiable fact.  Bethesda is releasing Dragonborn, a major DLC expansion centered on the first Dovahkiin and seemingly the lost art of riding goddamned dragons, for Xbox Live on December 4th, pricing in at 1200 Moon Points.  Skyrim has seen timed exclusive content on the Xbox before, so as such, no official statement on either a PC or PS3 release date has been announced (let alone whether or not the PS3 will remain the content-less odd man out once again).

Watch Dragonborn’s First Trailer hereabouts.

Next Skyrim DLC, “Hearthfire,” Turns You into a Real Estate Tycoon?

The winds traveled the news to us a short while ago that Bethesda had trademarked the name “Hearthfire” pertaining to the Elder Scrolls license, leading fans to suspect a DLC follow-up to Dawnguard was on the way.

Once again thanks to the leaky well of information that is Reddit, we’re rumored to have our first synopsis detailing Heartfire. For the story driven, it’s probably not quite what you expect:

Hearthfire, the next official game-add on for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, has arrived. For the first time in the Elder Scrolls universe, purchase land and build your own home from the ground up – from a simple one-room cottage to a sprawling compound complete with armory, alchemy laboratory, trophy room, and more! With Hearthfire, the possibilities of what you can build are endless.

Hmm, well there goes all that speculation pegging Hearthfire as a potential in for a zombie infested add-on similar to Red Dead’s Undead Nightmare or Borderland’s Zombie Island of Dr. Ned.  Sure, I wanted to Dragon Shout waves of the undead into a massive, red pulp but, uh, this is good, too.  Can’t wait to accessorize the shit out of my dungeon, I guess.

Of course, Bethesda has yet to comment or announce anything solid.  This could very well be a clever misguide or outright bull.  And with Dawnguard an absolute no-show on the PS3 (still), it’s going to be some time before we get around to whatever Hearthfire ends up being…fantasy-world real estate simulator or not.

UPDATE: Count this one as true.  Bethesda has announced the home improvement focused Hearthfire will be available for download through Xbox Live on September 4th.  It’ll set you back 400 MS for any of you would-be, virtual Bob Vila’s.  No announcement has been made regarding a PC or PS3 release.