Bethesda Game Studios Director Wants to Shadow Drop More…

Bethesda Game Studios Director Tom Mustaine would like to shadow drop more games after The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered's successful surprise launch. While fans knew of the remaster well before Bethesda officially unveiled it, dropping the game on the same day as its announcement proved to be a smart strategy. Now that The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered has shown what shadow dropping can do, Bethesda may consider a similar approach for future titles.

Despite several leaks spoiling the surprise, Oblivion Remastered shadow dropped on April 22, 2025, and fans quickly jumped into the game. Years of hype around Skyrim and the mysterious sixth Elder Scrolls game seemed to be enough to drum up excitement for the remaster without a conventional marketing campaign. It's now clear that fans were not the only ones excited by the shadow drop.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered players want a photo mode.

Oblivion Remastered Players Want One Modern Feature Added to the Game

Gamers playing The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered come together to request that the developers add one modern feature of the popular RPG.

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By Matthew O’Dwyer

Bethesda Game Studios Director Says He "Would Love to See" More Shadow Drops

Speaking to GamesRadar+, Mustaine said "it was great to own the internet for a day" when Oblivion Remastered released, and that he'd like to see the company do it again. The director pointed out that being able to give people what they want as soon as the studio announces it is a "very valuable" strategy. Considering how Oblivion Remastered drew over nine million players in three months, it's easy to see why companies like Bethesda would be interested in repeating such a move. While Mustaine admitted he didn't know what the studio might shadow drop next, he expressed hope that Oblivion Remastered was not its last surprise release.

As successful as Oblivion Remastered might have been at launch, it's understandable why not all studios are so keen on shadow dropping. Companies typically announce games like GTA 6 far in advance to attract investors, in turn providing the necessary funding to fulfill a title's full vision, especially for big-budget AAA games. Given how expensive development can be, not every company can afford to eschew investor interest. It's also worth noting that not every title benefits from the same kind of franchise name recognition as The Elder Scrolls, as the series' existing reputation likely played a big part in Oblivion Remastered's launch success.

Fighting a Clannfear in first-person - The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered

While surprise releases may not be a good fit for every game, Bethesda seems to like the concept. Mustaine said that Bethesda head Todd Howard "wanted to shadowdrop things for a long time" before Oblivion Remastered, so that title's performance may be enough to justify similar launches in the future. Howard has already hinted at the possibility of an Elder Scrolls 6 shadow drop, so Bethesda fans should keep their eyes peeled over the coming years.

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