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- Bethesda’s decision to shadow-drop Oblivion remastered proved to work completely in their favour.
- They gained the traction without spending a dime on marketing and people didn’t have false expectations so they enjoyed the game.
- Although shadow-dropping is a great strategy, building trust with the players and using it for expansions and remasters is a better way to use it.
We live in a time when there’s a lot of hype built way before games are actually released and GTA 6 is a prime example of this. We now get tons of teaser trailers, leaks, and theories, all of which increase the expectations of the players.
But Bethesda has done something different, and it has proved to work completely in their favour. They shadow-dropped Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered by announcing it on the same day of its launch.
Shadow Dropping Oblivion
While there were leaks before the release, Oblivion Remastered was completely hidden from the general public. No one knew that it was under development for nearly four years.
A Surprise That Paid Off Big
Despite people not knowing about it, this remaster proved to be extremely successful. Fans were quick to grab this game, making it the 3rd-best-selling title of 2025 in the United States.
Not only that, but it had also achieved over 200K concurrent players on Steam. These are huge achievements for a re-release of a game that is nearly over two decades old.
Win-Win For Bethesda
Bethesda has benefited from this release in more than one way. First, there were leaks just before its release, but fans needed an official statement. So, they flocked to Bethesda’s live stream for answers.
This gave Bethesda free publicity on their live streams, and more eyes means they can monetise this attention later, which is exactly what happened. The surprise release directly translated into more sales.
This is genius, considering Bethesda didn’t have to spend a dime on the marketing of the game after the release. They probably saved millions of dollars worth of advertising because of this sneaky but clever drop.
What If Bethesda Had Built Hype Before Its Release?
While it isn’t a new title and is only a remaster, and nostalgia played a big role in its success, still, if Bethesda announced it before and raised unrealistic expectations, it could’ve easily been a failure.
This is because, despite the great remaster, the game is mostly based on the older engine, and it retains many glitches as well. Many people might not have expected this, as they would eventually be disappointed had it been announced before.
But Why Does It Work?
Instead of going the traditional route of announcing a game and then having month long cycles then launching the game in an improper state then having post-launch updates to fix it, Bethesda took a different strategy.
No Pressure From The Community
They silently developed this game, and there was no pressure from the community because people simply weren’t aware of its development. They weren’t bombarded by messages from the people all the time inquiring about the game.
No False Expectations
Moreover, the community felt great about this title because they didn’t have any expectations. In fact, people couldn’t expect anything because they were simply not given any time to form any expectations in the first place.
This lack of expectations works in the favour of developers and game studios because it is far better to have a game that doesn’t have any expectations attached rather than building hype, creating expectations and not meeting them later.
Taking the latter approach often results in fans being disappointed more than ever and losing faith in the game studios. This has happened repeatedly in the past such as for Cyberpunk 2077 and Starfield.
It Feels Generous
Often, shadow-dropping games feel more like a gift to the community. Without any build-up hype, people believe that the company is saying: “Here you go, a game for you.”, which builds good will even if the game isn’t that good.
It’s Not Always Fun For Everyone
Although this shadow drop was a win-win for both Bethesda and the gaming community, small indie publishers were affected by it. Particularly, their small games get completely overshadowed by these shadow drops.
This is because they spend a lot of time planning everything related to their release and when surprise releases dominate the headlines, it becomes extremely difficult for these less-known games to gain traction.
What Other Studios Can Learn
The main reason this remaster worked is that the original Oblivion was a big hit. Bethesda had built trust around this game, which helped them get more sales for their remaster as well.
While shadowdropping is a good strategy, other studios should learn from Bethesda and not use it all the time. Instead, they stick to it for expansions, remasters, or experimental projects.
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[Comparisons Expert]
Shehryar Khan, a seasoned PC hardware expert, brings over three years of extensive experience and a deep passion for the world of technology. With a love for building PCs and a genuine enthusiasm for exploring the latest advancements in components, his expertise shines through his work and dedication towards this field. Currently, Shehryar is rocking a custom loop setup for his built.
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