Bethesda’s games have become legendary for their ambitious modding scenes, and no title is a better example of that than Skyrim, the most-modded game of all time. Arguably the most ambitious mod on the way for Bethesda’s nearly 14-year-old RPG, however, is Skywind. In a massive two-hour development update stream, the mod creators have toured its impressive map and even revealed new features that take the mod project to new heights.
With its goal of not just recreating Morrowind in Skyrim but also greatly expanding on the original RPG, it would be hard to argue against Skywind being one of the best Skyrim mods of all time. Revealed in a new developer update stream as part of Creation Mod Con 2024, it’s only getting better from here – even with no release date in sight.
Skywind modders NewtonsFourth, Overseer, Marco, and Argyle, who hosted the nearly two-hour stream, gave an in-depth tour of the recreated Morrowind map. Created from scratch, the map is seriously impressive. From the depths of Kora-Dur to the busy streets of Balmora, the world has been expanded a great deal, whether it’s removing barriers from the original world or quite literally building brand-new locations.
Many of Morrowind’s smaller dungeons have been reworked into, effectively, new dungeons using the themes and style of their original counterpart. Similarly, areas like the Grazelands had to be “designed from the ground up,” as Overseer explains, since they were relatively empty locations in the original Morrowind. Now, the Grazelands befit their name with verdant rolling hills.
During their exploration of Kora-Dur, the modders also revealed several new features coming to the Skyrim mod, some of which are reintroducing elements of Morrowind that didn’t make it into Skyrim. For example, underwater combat returns, letting you dive and wield weapons (including spells) underwater. At one point, the environment even reacts to a spell with aquatic life retreating into its shell.
There is also spellcrafting, which is currently “in progress,” though a number of new spells were showcased, expanding Skyrim’s surprisingly weak magic system. The developers described it as being more “modular,” letting you tweak specific features to create your own spells or use the many new custom spells. Plus, since you’re no longer the Dragonborn, Skyrim’s shout system has been repurposed for additional casting abilities.
Though previously revealed, the development stream also gave a good demo of Skywind’s voice acting. For the uninitiated, Morrowind featured very limited voice acting, with most dialog being text-based. In its recreation of the iconic RPG, Skywind is opting to voice every single line. In some cases, this has involved more extensive edits of the dialog so that it flows more like a conversation, which we get a glimpse at.
“It’s this combination of existing things and new ideas that we’re kind of blending together to make Skywind unique,” NewtonsFourth explains. Bringing new elements into Skyrim’s framework from Morrowind and other titles, it’s an incredibly ambitious mod.
Given how gargantuan Skywind is, we can only hope it arrives before the Elder Scrolls 6 release date. It would be a shame if all the team’s hard work was overshadowed by a brand-new open-world game in the series. Meanwhile, though, why not check out the best games like Skyrim to tide you over?
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