The trilogy promised by Bethesda about the virtual reality release in 2017 was really successful, with the Doom series, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls companies each getting a VR port by the end of the year. This release schedule, unfortunately, comes with one caveat: in the case of Skyrim VR, that version will be limited to the PlayStation VR launch as opposed to a more modular release on a powerful PC game.
Bethesda provides this Skyrim VR screen that supposedly runs on a Windows PC. It definitely looks clearer and sharper than on the PlayStation VR, but this can backfire.
It marks the ninth discrete SKU for Skyrim. His 2011 launch landed on Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 PCs, while the 2016 remanette landed on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (along with a completely new SKU on Windows). The following year saw Bethesda launch the PSVR version mentioned above, which came out on the same day in November as a Nintendo Switch game version.
Should Skyrim fans get excited?
Maybe, if only because everything we least like about the PSVR version will be fixed by default thanks to the standard HTC Vive control suite. Ars' Kyle Orland was more friendly against the version's version control scheme, but I never hooked up the combination of the weird PlayStation Move wand button and the delicate motion control. Either way, we hope that the updates to the Vive Vive Vesc motion suite landed on Skyrim VR by default. In addition, lower resolution and muddy texture does not cause much curiosity for other Skyrim dives, and we know that SteamVR standard performance is higher than that offered by PSVR.
If you are not interested in news as a fan of Skyrim or HTC Vive, there is also a fun news issue in the Steam game store list: the game will be delivered with the support of the baked Oculus. With other Bethesda VR games, Valve must implement the override function, used to defeat Bethesda who recognized weak "no Rift" triggers in Fallout 4 VR and Doom VFR. Now, Skyrim VR includes the explicitly "this will work on Oculus" tag.
This marks the first time Bethesda has officially endorsed the Oculus Rift product, which adds new wrinkles to the long legal battle between Oculus and Bethesda. The game does not seem to have a dedicated Oculus Shop page, but, based on the Steam List page, the Oculus headset owner will be able to buy the game via SteamVR and boot it on Oculus hardware like that and possibly use Oculus tracked movements. Touch controls too. (Windows Mixed Reality Headset will also be supported.)
The biggest question at the time of the press is how the mod friendly Skyrim VR will appear on the PC. Both Windows game SKUs are given a considerable new life by Steam Workshop contributors who work hard on texture packages, recycle effort, and tweak other quality of life. I have contacted Bethesda with questions about the Steam Workshop support and will update this report if she receives a response.