- Ex-Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra has commented on the recent release of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
- The former president says remasters can’t hold up against “modern masterpieces” like Elden Ring
- He adds, “We’ve had so many ‘remasters’ that nostalgia is limited”
Former Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra said he’s “skeptical” about remasters like The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, comparing the game to the success of Elden Ring, which he argued has moved the bar too high for role-playing games (RPGs).
In a recent post on X / Twitter (via PC Gamer), the ex-Blizzard boss shared his thoughts on the Oblivion remaster, saying that he doesn’t think remasters of old games can hold up against “modern masterpieces” like FromSoftware’s Elden Ring.
“I’m skeptical about 20-year-old remasters,” Ybarra said. “What was once fantastic, now remastered, will never hold up against modern masterpieces like Elden Ring. The bar has simply moved from safe open world RPGs to what Elden Ring brought us all.
“I would love to be proven wrong. But I’m not,” he continued.
“I don’t mean soulslike, I mean the discovery, the classes, the combat system, etc,” Ybarra added. “Just a new level of quality.”
When another user said that remasters like Oblivion “lack in innovation” and compensate in nostalgia, Ybarra responded, saying he believes gamers want something new.
“I hear you, but I think we’ve had so many ‘remasters’ that nostalgia is limited. I could be wrong. But I think the gaming community wants fresh and new more than ever,” he said.
Despite Ybarra’s comments, it’s clear that there is room for both remasters and modern RPGs like Elden Ring and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. Just hours after the shadow drop launch of Oblivion Remastered, the game quickly garnered over 180,000 concurrent players on Steam.
As of writing, the game has reached an all-time peak player count of 216,784 players, according to SteamDB, and has an overall user rating of “Very Positive” on the platform.
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