Bethesda announces the Skyrim Anniversary Edition, free next-gen upgrades and fishing

Bethesda has announced a number of new Skyrim related releases, including the game’s third special edition.

The Skyrim Anniversary Edition follows the 2013 Legendary Edition and the 2016 Special Edition, and will be released on November 11 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 and PC.

The Anniversary Edition will include everything from the Special Edition – an enhanced version of the main game and the three official expansions Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn.

It will also include 500 pieces of content from the game’s Creation Club, which includes quests, dungeons, bosses, weapons and spells made by both Bethesda and community creators.

The news was announced at a live presentation held during QuakeCon, with Bethesda senior community lead Jessica Finster saying: “If you already have Skyrim Special Edition you can upgrade to the Anniversary Edition for the additional content.” It wasn’t made clear whether this upgrade will have a fee.

Bethesda also announced that the Skyrim Special Edition would also be getting a next-gen upgrade on the same day. “You don’t need to own the Anniversary Edition to experience Skyrim on next-gen consoles,” Finster claimed.

As well as the Anniversary Edition and the free next-gen upgrade for Special Edition, Bethesda’s managing director Ashley Cheng also revealed that fishing will soon be added to the game for free.

“You know what, I think 10 years is a long time to wait but I think it’s worth it, we’re putting a fishing mechanic in the game,” Cheng said. “It’s one thing that I’ve always wanted to do in Skyrim.

“You’re running around the world, exploring the wilderness, you don’t have to dive in the water and click blindly anymore, you can now grab a fishing pole, do some fishing quests. It’s a great addition to the game, it’ll be free to everyone, and it really adds to the immersion of the world.”