
So before we go into mods ( which is pretty much what keeps this game alive today), let’s recap quickly. Mod authors are embracing a better game engine that provides far more resources and stability for their work. It used to be when it first came out (and a year or two after) that players would not want to buy it BECAUSE all of the major mods were for LE and SE was a mod desert so to speak, but now the reverse is true. The reason why it’s so important is because all the major upcoming mods are developed for it, almost exclusively. However, this is NOT the reason why Skyrim SE is so important today in 2020.

So Bethesda allowed everyone who owned LE to automatically acquire SE at no additional cost up until a certain point, via STEAM. This version of the game was met with a lot of criticism from players who already paid for the game previously and all DLCs in one way or the other. Hence the confusion a lot of players had between ‘ Skyrim Remastered‘ and ‘ Skyrim Special Edition‘ – which is basically the same game with two different names players used interchangeably. Skyrim SE (Special Edition)ĭuring 2016, Bethesda announced a remastered version of Skyrim. This version is what is playable on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. That’s still basically the ‘ base‘ game of Skyrim + other goodies that came after it.

So essentially it was a ‘ package‘ that included everything up to that point and you could just buy it and have ‘ everything‘ installed at once.

Let’s start in a chronological way, it’s the easiest way really. Players need to know what they’re buying and what’s the better product. It’s not that there are a dozen Skyrim editions or so, it’s just that Bethesda has somehow managed to make it very hard to understand the differences between them, for those who are just now coming into contact with any of them. In the video above I will talk you through the differences, but in case that you prefer to read at your own pace here is a written guide as well. This question has been asked so many times and yet rarely will you see a comprehensive and thorough explanation between all the different versions of Skyrim that there are today.
