With Unreal Engine 5 being the hottest thing out there, fans cannot wait to experience the realism and rich graphics of the engine. This has led many fans and modders to remake their favorite games on the latest game engine.
Among them are fans of the Elder Scrolls franchise. And with Elder Scrolls 6 on the way, and devs confirming that the game will be built on Creation Engine 2, fans are upset with the devs over skipping the Unreal Engine 5.
Starfield recreated on Unreal Engine 5
Bethesda’s Starfield, which launched in September 2023 was built on the second version of the developer’s in-house engine, Creation Engine 2.0. However, at that time Unreal Engine 5 was already out there. This led to many wonder what Todd Howard‘s massive space game would have looked like had been on Epic’s revolutionary Unreal Engine 5.
A fan reimagined the game and recreated the game using Unreal Engine 5. The YouTuber named ‘Ghost Design’ posted a seven-minute video on their channel. The user designed an outpost to duplicate exactly what it would look like in Starfield with Unreal Engine 5.
The result obviously looks breathtaking. Users in the comments even said that it looks way better than the actual game.
Notably, Starfield was the first game wherein Bethesda used the updated Creation Engine 2. The second version of the engine boasted visual and AI updates as well as a new procedural generation system.
However, upon release, the game was plagued by many issues similar to those reported in the previous three games that used the first version. These issues included loading screens, uninteresting character, and world designs, the game struggling to handle pressure from its many in-motion elements as well as dull gameplay.
With the Creation Engine, players have always felt that it was capable enough of delivering exciting RPGs, however, the games always felt a bit outdated upon release. The same was the plight with Starfield and Creation Engine 2. Several players highlighted the aging graphics, technical problems, and the endless loading screens in Starfield. Multiple players also noticed that the engine had limited graphical options. Moreover, it was also seen to be poorly optimized, and a bit rough in places.
If Elder Scrolls 6 was made in Unreal Engine 5
At E3 2021, Xbox-Bethesda showcase, the game director Todd Howard confirmed that Elder Scrolls 6 will use the same engine as Starfield. Thus it is confirmed that Elder Scrolls 6 will use Creation Engine 2.
Unfortunately, the actual game is far from release. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from imagining the game in Epic Games’ engine. Several users have shared fan-made creations of what the upcoming game would look like in the future.
Many players suspect The Elder Scrolls 6 will take place in Hammerfell. Thus a YouTuber, Ascendent Dawn, created the game in that setting on Unreal Engine 5. They used music from Oblivion and Skyrim as the background score.
Several fans are also upset that the devs did not choose Unreal Engine 5 to make the sixth installment of The Elder Scrolls. However, it is important to understand that the choice of a game engine is not as simple as it would seem to an uninitiated gamer.
There are more important things to consider apart from just the graphics. As Bethesda’s Todd Howard rightly said,
“I think most people who aren’t making games confuse the word ‘engine’. They think of an engine as one thing. We view it as technology. There are lots of pieces, and with every game, parts of that change. Whether it’s the render, the animation system, the scripting, the AI, the controls [and] some of it’s middleware, [like] Havok Animation.”
Thus as fans, it is natural to think that Bethesda made a wrong choice by not choosing Unreal Engine 5 for Elder Scrolls 6, however, as developers it might seem like a fair decision.
