Latest news with #TheElderScrolls
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom QA Workers Union Reaches Tentative Contract With Microsoft After Nearly Two Years
Today, over 300 unionized quality assurance workers at ZeniMax Media, who work on everything from The Elder Scrolls to Doom, have announced they have reached a tentative deal with parent company Microsoft on their first contract since forming their union two years ago. ZeniMax Workers United, which is unionized under Communications Workers of America (CWA), said the agreement includes "substantial across-the-board wage increases," minimum salaries, protections against arbitrary dismissal, grievance procedures, protections around use of artificial intelligence that could impact workers, and a crediting policy to ensure QA workers are appropriately credited in games they work on. ZeniMax Media owns publisher Bethesda Softworks and development studios Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield), id Software (Doom, Quake, and Rage), Arkane (Dishonored, Prey, and Redfall), MachineGames (Wolfenstein, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle), and ZeniMax Online Studios (The Elder Scrolls Online). Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media for $8.1 billion in March 2021 and operates it under the Microsoft Gaming division. 'Video games have been the revenue titan of the entire entertainment industry for years, and the workers who develop these games are too often exploited for their passion and creativity," said Jessee Leese, a member of the bargaining committee. "Organizing unions, bargaining for a contract, and speaking with one collective voice has allowed workers to take back the autonomy we all deserve. Our first contract is an invitation for video game professionals everywhere to take action. We're the ones who make these games, and we'll be the ones to set new standards for fair treatment.' ZeniMax QA workers first unionized in January of 2023, following groups at Raven Software and Blizzard Albany, after Microsoft made a public commitment to labor neutrality. However, the road to a contract has been challenging. In November of last year, workers went on a one-day strike, citing a lack of progress at the bargaining table over remote work protections and allegations that Microsoft was outsourcing QA work without bargaining with the union. Then, in April, workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, again citing concerns over remote work and low compensation. The tentative contract is contingent on ratification by the union members in a vote which is expected to be concluded by June 20. Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @ Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Newsweek
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Oblivion Remaster Characters Take Internet by Storm
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered game has brought a visual overhaul to one of gaming's most beloved fantasy worlds and players have been creating some wild-looking characters since the update. The remaster overhauled the character creation screen, which is a staple of Bethesda games, into one of the most versatile creators seen in the industry, and players have quickly realized just how flexible it can be. Why It Matters On April 22, Bethesda announced and launched the updated version of its 2006 classic Oblivion, the prequel to Skyrim. Oblivion, which was the fourth entry in The Elder Scrolls franchise, is known for its expansive open world, deep storytelling and pioneering voice acting. The remaster includes reworked character models, enhanced textures, a modernized lighting system and refined facial expressions. What To Know Oblivion originally debuted in 2006 on PC and Xbox 360, expanding to PlayStation 3 the following year, through a co-publishing partnership between Bethesda and 2K Games, a label under Take-Two Interactive. It quickly developed a reputation for clunky mechanics and weird-looking character models, but the original game has retained a strong fanbase who appreciate the charm of Bethesda's older, buggier games. Like the original game, the character creation stage is the first thing many players have seen, so it's a good thing that the creation process has been improved so much. Facial animations have been improved to create more natural character expressions, while still retaining the recognizable style that defined the original game. my friend made JD Vance in the Oblivion character creator 😭 — Spinelius (@spinelius) April 29, 2025 Several of the most popular creations brought back the trend of distorted images of Vice President JD Vance, with one character dubbed "Sir Vancealot." This is my magnum opus in Oblivion Remaster. Sir Vancealot — CAMELCAST OFFICIAL (@CAMELCASTOff) April 22, 2025 Another player recreated the face of comedian Shane Gillis in the creator, right down to the mustache. Other creations focused on pushing the sliders in the character generator to the extreme, with heavily distorted features and proportions. "Not my original intent but the Oblivion character creator has decided I am adventuring through Cyrodiil as white Snoop Dogg," one player wrote, sharing his character's look on social media. Not my original intent but the Oblivion character creator has decided I am adventuring through Cyrodiil as white Snoop Dogg. — The Whole Rabbit (@1WholeRabbit) April 26, 2025 Players praised the new look of the creator, which uses new lighting techniques to add a polish that wasn't there in the original game. What People Are Saying One player remarked that it somehow made the strange creations more realistic, writing on the game's Reddit page: "It somehow still looks like an intentional design rather than of clunky mess these characters normally do. This was obviously made to look as ridiculous as possible, but would not look out of place at all in a claymation film." What Happens Next Bethesda announced that further updates are planned, including minor gameplay tweaks and additional refinements based on community feedback. The remaster, co-developed by Virtuos and Bethesda Game Studios, is available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wait, Just How Long Is Oblivion Remastered?
The Elder Scrolls ranks among the most beloved role-playing franchises of all time, so it makes sense that the internet has been absolutely in love with the re-release of one of its most popular entries, Oblivion. After years of speculation, Oblivion Remastered has finally landed, bringing with it vastly improved visuals and a host of quality-of-life improvements. Read More: The Internet Reacts To The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remaster Taking Over Like It's 2006 Again? Whether it's your first time playing this classic RPG, or if you're diving back in after a long time away, you might be a little intimidated by a game as large as Oblivion. How much time will you need to set aside to jump into this massive open-world RPG? Let's get into it. Oblivion Remastered's main quest can be completed in about 20-25 hours, while engaging in a majority of its side-quests can push that number well past 70-80 hours. And if you're a true completionist who wants to see and do literally everything in Oblivion Remastered, you can probably manage to get around 150-200 hours of total gameplay from this trip to Cyrodil. Read More: Five Tips To Kick Off The Ultimate Oblivion Remastered Adventure Of course, this is ignoring the fact that Oblivion Remastered also comes with the 'Knights of the Nine' and 'Shivering Isles' expansion packs, which include their own substantial campaigns to work through. Completing both expansions in full can add over 40 more hours of questing, exploring, and monster slaying to your time with the game. Oblivion Remastered is a massive role-playing experience with so much to see and do that it's hard to say just how long it will take you, specifically, to see it through to the end. Do you want to focus solely on its main quests? Do you want to tackle some of its side-quests? Do you want to explore every nook and cranny of its dense open world? It's all up to you and your playstyle. Read More: Yo, You Can Score A Horse For Free Early On In Oblivion Remastered Clearly, there's no shortage of content in Oblivion Remastered, so if you're looking for a vast open-world adventure at a reasonable price, you can pick up a copy of it right now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or Windows PC for $49.99. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Metro
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Games Inbox: When will there be more UK Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders?
The Friday letters page wants more The Elder Scrolls and Fallout remasters, as a reader is upset by the price hike for amiibo. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ Too popular Seeing the sales predictions for the Nintendo Switch 2 it's clear the console is going to be a major success, much bigger than the PlayStation 5. You can complain about the mistakes Nintendo has made in the reveal, and some of the lesser games (I still haven't heard any explanation for why Kirby: Air Riders is a 2025 game) but the thought of a new Switch and a new Mario Kart is all a lot of people need to hear. I don't say they're wrong either. I need a bit more myself, especially as Donkey Kong Bananza is an unknown factor, but while I am still somewhat tempted, the problem is that the Switch 2 is clearly going to be almost impossible to get, whether you want it or not. Nintendo were probably unwise to talk about having so much stock that scalping will be irrelevant. But they are wrong because the console has proven 'too popular'. Unless you happen to be in the right place at the right time, for the few seconds stock is available, I don't think there's any real chance of getting a Switch 2 before launch. There aren't going to be any major pre-orders at all. At this point I doubt it'll be much easier even by Christmas. Focus Finding your way What this excellent Oblivion remaster shows is how Bethesda have lost their way with their recent mainline games. I'm a big fan of theirs and have put a lot of time into Starfield, but all that procedurally generated nonsense just doesn't work for me. Their best work comes in their dungeons and handcrafted open worlds, the potato head characters have never bothered me one iota. Oblivion was the first game I played by them, back on the Xbox 360, and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. I managed to conquer it back then, but I never really mastered it. I closed the main quest and Oblivion gates way too early and never got to see half the dungeons. Playing it now feels like unfinished business, a beautifully enhanced unfinished business, may I add, in Unreal Engine 5. I don't know if it's a lot harder than Skyrim, or I've just forgotten the map, but I'm having real difficulty in those Ayelid ruins on this playthrough. I vaguely remember some of the missions, but I've spent way too many hours in Skyrim to really remember things about Oblivion. I'm really enjoying this game again and I'm glad I bought it after first thinking it might just be another Bethesda cash grab. Let's have Fallout 3 and New Vegas next and welcome Elder Scrolls 6 in with open arms. Nick The Greek Guaranteed hit Seems to me, after reading your news of 2.2 million people wanting a Switch 2 in Japan, Nintendo have got the Switch 2 perfect for another generation. 2.2 million? How mad is that? Everywhere is sold out in the UK. You get the odd one or two available, but it's sold out within a second or two and if the USA pre-orders go live on Thursday it seems they're going to be gone in seconds as well. By Xmas people will still be waiting for one. I really thought it wouldn't sell well and it goes to prove I know nothing about the gaming market or what people are willing to pay for it. David GC: 2.2 million is indeed an insane number for Japan alone. We never would've thought it possible in a post-mobile world. Email your comments to: gamecentral@ New information Do you guys know how all my games from my Switch will transfer to my Switch 2 come launch? I pre-ordered mine on April 4th at Smyths toy store in York. I want to sell my Switch whilst I can a better return on it. I have a lot of games I have bought digitally, and I don't want to lose them. Nintendo during the Direct mentioned that come late May they will put up on My Nintendo how it will work. I would rather know sooner rather than later. On another note, the store I pre-ordered from is relocating to another area of York on 22nd May. They better not lose my pre-order in the move; I have my receipt though. I will be there at 9am on June 5th at the new location to collect my Switch 2. woz_007 (NN ID) GC: We had exactly this same question earlier in the week. Although that was before Nintendo decided to suddenly change its information about Zelda cloud saves. Hopefully that should make things easier though, so all you have to do is redownload your digital games and then transfer your saves from the cloud – although you'll need to subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online to do that. Chosen title While everyone seems to be doing their best to manufacture controversy over the Switch 2, because it's generating clicks, I've been looking back through my Switch library to work out what to play on 5th June, other than Mario Kart, obviously. I think it's about time I played XCOM: War Of The Chosen again. My laptop loads it almost instantly and runs it at 200+ fps with settings maxed, because it has no selectable frame rate cap. However, despite the low graphics settings, minutes long loads and choppy frame rate, there is something about just playing it slumped on the couch on the Switch. The Switch 2 should do wonders for the experience, and now I've had the idea I'm already getting itchy fingers waiting. Antony White GC: Which controversy do you feel has been manufactured? Between two stools Meant to write in a few weeks ago, with the news of Star Wars XCOM, which I'm very excited about. However, I always feel a bit sad that they created XCOM 2, one of the greatest games of all time, then brought out War Of The Chosen, which somehow made it even better and added some really interesting mechanics, and then instead of making 3, they made Midnight Suns instead. Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible game, it's actually quite good, but a card-based Marvel game was pretty doomed as it would alienate Marvel fans and XCOM fans from the start. More recently I loved your review of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33; 9/10 from Metro means it must be a seriously good game and it made me buck the trend and pre-order it (I swore I never to do that after agents of mayhem broke me), but so far it is living up to the hype and some! Keep up the good work GC. Michael, Crawley GC: Thank you. We'd rate Midnight Suns much higher than you, though. If it wasn't for the overstuffed narrative elements back at the Abbey, we believe it would've been approaching XCOM 2 status – we thought the combat was excellent. Next gen price hike The new Street Fighter and Legend Of Zelda amiibo are currently in stock on Nintendo Store UK, available for pre-order on June 5th 2025. There is also a Street Fighter 6 amiibo Cards Starter Set which has three character cards for Kimberley, Luke, and Jamie for £24.99 available for pre-order too. They are very expensive compared to previous amiibo prices. I've pre-ordered the Street Fighter amiibo myself. I would like to get the Zelda ones too but will have to get that at another time, as they are expensive compared to Switch 1 amiibo. The Zelda amiibo are cheaper than the Street Fighter 6 amiibo. Andrew J. GC: Yeesh, that is very expensive. We guess amiibo are no longer impulse purchases. Multiformat option Thanks for the recommendations from GC reader Andy F. After reading some reviews of Mario Golf: Super Rush I've decided to pass on that game and pick up Everybody's Golf, when it finally gets released onto the Switch, as this series has always been supremely enjoyable when I've played them on various PlayStation platforms in the past. I still have a quandary with the Mario games I mentioned though. That's basically because I'm not very good at 2D Mario games and I tend to fare better in a 3D world. However, with Super Mario Odyssey I've read so many times that the moons feel too easily earned and superfluous. I adored the Galaxy games because each star was a challenge and meant something to me. I know this is a very divisive issue, however. I'm currently looking up reviews of all three of the Mario games I mentioned, including Bowser's Fury. I still do have a gripe with the Switch 2 though and feel that Nintendo have valued innovation over economics regarding the console being mostly flat in handheld mode. I'm going to have to purchase some aftermarket kit to make the Switch 2 usable for longer sessions in handheld as I have carpal tunnel in both hands. I'd also like a proper D-Pad from the company who invented it. Seems crazy to say that my Xbox Series X/S controllers allow me superior control on 1 vs 1 fighters, like Street Fighter 6 (I have no issues pulling off special moves for example) over a Nintendo device. Anyway, that's my little rant out the way. Charlie H. GC: Ignoring the New Super Mario sub-series, you'd be hard pressed to find any Mario platformer that wasn't an exceptional game. But Super Mario 3D World is right in the middle between 2D and 3D, so it seems perfect for you. As for the Switch 2, the Pro Controller has always been a very good joypad. Inbox also-ransIt's interesting that Mario Kart World doesn't have any non-Mario characters in it, even though Mario Kart 8 Deluxe does. Is that a sign of DLC to come or that Nintendo is trying to pull things back in and avoid a Nintendo Kart situation – it's not like World doesn't have tons of characters as it is. Lossy Just finished Indiana Jones And The Great Circle and it was overall a really good game, but that final boss battle was absolutely terrible. A 30 hour game and literally the final 10 minutes were the worst bit. Zeiss More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: Is The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered overrated? MORE: Games Inbox: Is Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion better than Skyrim? MORE: Games Inbox: Will GTA 6 be on Nintendo Switch 2?
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Absolutely insane drop': The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered surprise launch sends fans into frenzy; here's where to play it
Finally, Bethesda has announced the release of its much-awaited game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, on Tuesday after a string of leaks and reports that led to a surprise launch of the game in April. Well, a remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is probably the worst-kept secret in the gaming industry, which has now finally been released. Back in 2006, Oblivion was released, and since then, it is considered to be one of the most beloved action role-playing games, which is believed to be the best in the popular The Elder Scrolls series. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered: Leaks, rumours and more For the past couple of weeks, before the surprise release of the game, there were all sorts of leaks, rumours and speculations circulating, from insiders claiming the game was to be released on April 21 and more. On the other hand, Virtuos Studios, a company understood to be working on the remaster, sustained a leak with screenshots doing the rounds on social media. Why Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is a Huge Hit According to Indy100, remaster seems to be one of the biggest hits online because it did what all good remasters should have done. Apart from that, the developers have done key improvements from the original in terms of gameplay and presentation without completely overhauling it. Sharing an example, the report said some animations still retain the charming awkwardness that fans loved in the original game, along with much of the original dialogue, featuring incredibly funny lines from characters with those iconic quotes back again. Return to Tamriel and close shut the jaws of Oblivion in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Available now! Gamers react to the release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered The game strikes the perfect balance, with gamers loving the blend of upgrades and the preservation of the unforgettable elements that define Oblivion. Fans share their reactions to the trailer of the game, and one said, "I can't wait to walk into the Oblivion gate in Kvatch and wake up on a prisoner carriage in Skyrim." "Game was rigged from the start," another said. "Sexiest thing I have seen in quite a while and its on gamepass right now im in heaven" "Quit your job and go play it" "Its absolute banger, if you haven't played. Dunno about the price tag for those who have." "I really like this method of releasing things. I understand they want to let everyone know early what games are in development, but I think a simple announcement of "We're doing this thing!", and then silence until a reveal trailer and same day drop is more exciting and less exhausting than the constant hype. I really liked also having the introduction, and little interviews with people who worked on it, etc." "Absolutely insane shadow drop! Downloading it right now 🔥" Absolutely insane shadow drop! Downloading it right now 🔥 Where and how to play The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion? The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is now available to purchase across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. The game's Standard Edition costs Rs. 4162 on Steam, while the Deluxe Edition comes in at Rs. 4,995. Originally, the game was released on PC and Xbox 360 in 2006 and received widespread critical acclaim, winning various Game of the Year awards at the time.
