Mike Ybarra Says 20-Year-Old Remasters Would "Never Hold Up Against Modern Masterpieces"
Although he didn't directly diss Oblivion Remastered, the remarks were made on the day it was released.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, which garnered enough attention without Bethesda spending a penny on marketing before its shadow drop on Tuesday, has had a great launch. The $50 game saw 190k concurrent players on Steam soon after it was released in the middle of the week, and it received 82% of positive reviews on Steam.
However, it does not qualify to compete with modern masterpieces, according to Mike Ybarra, the former president of Blizzard. He believes that 20-year-old remasters of "fantastic" games would "never hold up against modern masterpieces like Elden Ring." The reason? "The bar has simply moved from safe open-world RPGs to what Elden Ring brought us all."
His statement is hardly agreeable for some, especially to those who see Oblivion Remastered carrying lots of nostalgic feelings that modern titles don't have by their nature. "But, I also believe what these remasters lack in innovation, they compensate with something new games can’t bring to the table: nostalgia," commented a player.
This can be further proved by the positive reviews on Steam from those who had greatly enjoyed the original game and were thrilled to see the Unreal Engine remastered version, which brings overhauled graphics and improved performance for modern devices while still keeping the core of Oblivion.
"2006: Skipped school to play Oblivion. 2025: Skipped work to play Oblivion," one player wrote, and it probably accurately captured what happened to the loyal fans. Another fan expressed their feelings, stating that "this remaster makes me feel like reuniting with an old friend after many years. Neither you nor your friend has changed. You have the same emotions and the same good chat. Just like the good old days..."
Notably, Mike Ybarra didn't clarify that he was discussing Oblivion Remastered specifically, and the community easily associated his remarks with the game since they were posted on its release day.
He isn't wrong to say the bar has been raised over the past two decades, yet this is only "technically" true. There are too many other aspects involved in assessing whether a game is great or worthy of being remastered or remade, and everyone has their own bar made up of various elements.
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