Ex-Skyblivion dev says it ‘was never in the state that the videos would show off’ as they claim it’s crunching on a ‘pointless and unachievable’ 2025 release goal—but remaining devs seem optimistic

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The highly anticipated project, Mega-mod Skyblivion, which reimagines The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion using the advanced Skyrim: Special Edition engine, is expected to launch within a few months following over a decade of development. Generally, the response to this has been quite favorable. Trailer previews look promising, its dungeons are rumored to be enhanced, and even Bethesda offered the entire team access to the official Oblivion Remaster when it became available.

One individual associated with the team, either currently or previously, has expressed dissatisfaction. Dee Keyes, who is credited as a world designer on Skyblivion’s team page but has confirmed to RPS that they are no longer part of the project, has spoken out on X to voice criticisms about the project due to accusations of mismanagement and excessive work hours being pushed towards a purportedly unrealistic and unnecessary release date.

Yesterday, Skyblivion shared a video featuring the game’s first 15 minutes. Keyes criticized the project a day prior, stating that while Skyblivion had impressive PR through its dev diaries and trailers, unfortunately, the actual state of the project was not as polished as those videos suggested. In other words, to create the level of shine seen in the videos, significant work would have been needed to fake the polish present therein.

Initially, I thought sharing our game’s footage with the community was an amazing way to showcase our vision. However, as time went by, it dawned on me that we were unlikely to attain the level of shine those videos suggested for Skyblivion. In Keyes’ words, while there was once a lot of enthusiasm and dedication towards this project, over the past few years, Skyblivion transitioned from a labor of love to more of an endurance test, or what we might call ‘crunch mode’.

It’s important to mention that some enthusiastic fans have raised concerns about Keyes’ accusations of manipulating footage in videos related to the mod, particularly regarding Kvatch. However, other developers have countered these claims, with one navmesh developer on the project stating in the Discord channel, “I believe they are primarily referring to aspects like the depiction of Kvatch in this trailer.” Prior to Kvatch’s completion, a distinct camera angle was utilized.

The latest video has been edited extensively, mainly to remove excessive content. In fact, since most locations except for the Imperial City have already been filmed, there’s no longer a need for specific camera angles.

Despite announcing the mod’s release year in 2023, Keyes considers it a significant blunder. He suggests that the decision to reveal the release date wasn’t based on confidence in the project’s completion, but rather on the assumption that a trailer of this type would generate the highest viewership due to its appeal.

Over the past few months, we’ve found it challenging to persuade Rebelzize, our lead developer, that this release date is feasible. This isn’t because we’re pessimistic but rather due to a realistic assessment of the situation. As unpaid and part-time contributors, tackling this project would be an enormous task for a full-fledged development team. Unfortunately, all our efforts to request a delay have fallen on deaf ears. It’s disheartening to see that even passion projects can end up being rushed, with developers working under pressure.

Essentially, Keyes implies that “Skyblivion” is similar to Season 8 of Game of Thrones in the sense that they both seem rushed and released before their time should be. In other words, he suggests that “Skyblivion” isn’t just a project meant to boost someone’s portfolio, but rather it’s a labor of love for Elder Scrolls fans.

It’s significant to mention that despite the harsh critique, the Skyblivion project continues to have several developers and contributors working on it. Although no formal response has been made addressing Keyes’ comments, key figures within the project have voiced their opinions.

Evan Flatt, the communications lead, clarified on Reddit that their goal is to launch Skyblivion this year. However, there are still tasks that need to be completed. The team plans to release it once they feel confident about its quality… Currently, everyone agrees that Skyblivion isn’t quite ready yet (if it were, we would release it right away). Their hope is to have it ready by the end of this year, and if for any reason it isn’t, they will inform us promptly.

Or, as one developer put it on the Skyblivion Discord: “It won’t release until we’re finished.”

I’ve reached out to the main contacts for Skyblivion regarding Keyes’ comments, and I will revise this article if I receive a response.

It’s tough to predict how things will unfold with projects like Skyblivion, but I’m still looking forward to its release. The developers are doing a great job of staying positive in public forums, and my interactions with Rebelzize have piqued my curiosity even more. However, sometimes a good public image can hide underlying issues. Let’s hope that’s not the case here.

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2025-09-03 19:06