'There's always the chance s**t hits the fan and we suffer another major setback,' Skyblivion lead says about the possibility of another delay, but 'from what I see internally I am pretty optimistic'

I wondered, last week, if the new call for aid put forth by the Skyblivion development team was a sign that the long-awaited mega mod—the one recreating The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion in the newer tech of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition—might be delayed again. It was supposed to be out in 2025 but was pushed into '26 at the last minute, and to me this new update made it sound like there's still an awful lot left to do for a game that's supposed to be out within the next eight months.

Anything's possible, but Skyblivion project lead Rebelzize told me in an email that he remains "pretty optimistic" about things, and that while the development team is "stretched thin," that's been the case for the past decade already.

"The call to action was an idea to try and get a few extra hands on the project to help out, mostly with polish," Rebelzize told me. "We listed all departments not because we are dead in the water and have nobody left to help out, but because we currently have good momentum and want to take every opportunity we can to make sure we can keep that up and maybe even find one or two more people to help speed things up further."

All quest locations have been finished and QA-checked, the Imperial City—which was cited as "our last major hurdle" in last year's delay announcement—has "gotten the breakthrough we needed," and of course bugs are being fixed "left and right." Rebelzize said "there's always the chance shit hits the fan and we suffer another major setback," but added that "from what I see internally, I am pretty optimistic."

Rebelzize also had some advice for followers who might be a little too overeager to criticize the Skyblivion team's efforts, or predict doom and gloom for the mod's future.

"My goal has never been to keep this game from people any longer than I have to, but I owe it to everyone who helped out over the years to make sure we have a functional game to deliver," he wrote.

"Just as the team and myself are very passionate about our work, so are members of the community. However you voice that excitement please take a step back and recognize the work and the people behind it. There are no ill intentions on our part and everyone is doing the best they can to get this out ASAP."