The crown jewel of Bethesda Game Studios is getting released on another platform. Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is now available on Nintendo Switch 2.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition includes the base game and three official expansions: Dawnguard, Dragonborn, and Hearthfire.
Access to the Creation Club, mods (paid and free) as curated by Bethesda, are also available.
The Switch 2 version has “enhanced resolution” (interesting that it isn’t officially specified so you have to wait for hardware-testing outlets to report back on this), DLSS anti-aliasing, improved load times, performance optimisations, mouse control support via the Joy-Con 2 and motion controls.
Amiibo support, a cool little gimmick exclusive to the Switch version, is carried over to the Switch 2. On top of that, three Nintendo-exclusive content based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can be found in Skyrim: The Master Sword, Hylian Shield and Champion’s Tunic.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition on Switch 2 is a free upgrade if you have The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition on Switch.
This is not to be confused with the regular, base-game only version of Skyrim, which is also available on Switch. If you own that version, you’ll have to buy the Anniversary Upgrade, which allows you to play Skyrim Anniversary Edition (with all the expansions) on both Switch and Switch 2.
In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, players take on the role of the Dovahkiin, the prophesied Dragonborn who must put the stop of the dragon attacks in Skyrim, including a world-ending threat. Or do what most players do and ignore the main questline, just go off and explore the northern region of Tamriel at your own leisure and find whatever adventure awaits.
The evergreen 2011 open world action RPG has one of the most beloved open world to grace a video game. It’s an excellent example of great theme-park-style open world design with good enough gameplay, worldbuilding and systems to support this much-loved player-driven RPG.
The next Elder Scrolls game is still likely years away, so another Skyrim port is what we’ll have to settle with for now.
With Skyrim being set in a land of eternal winter (with pockets of eternal autumn), another copy of Skyrim does make a good gift for the holiday season, to your loved ones or yourself. The live-action trailer of the announcement makes good note of that. Shout out to Skyrim Grandma (the YouTuber Shirley Curry) with the cameo at the end.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is now available on Nintendo Switch 2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is also available in some form on PS3, PS4, PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG), Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.