Skip to main content

Following the Dragonborn DLC add-on to the PC, Skyrim gets a facelift

Skyrim dragon HD Texture Pack

Though The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was one of the biggest game releases in recent memory, its downloadable content additions have left a lot to be desired by anyone who isn’t playing the game on the Xbox 360. As we’ve repeatedly reported, Skyrim creator Bethesda Softworks has been having a difficult time bringing the game’s DLC to the PC and PlayStation 3. The first PS3 DLC is slated to arrive on February 12, even though Xbox 360 owners have been enjoying the game’s add-ons since last June.

Even the graphically superior PC that is awash with gamers creating their own Skyrim mods is also lagging behind the Xbox 360. The Dragonborn DLC, which made its Steam debut just yesterday, has been available on the Xbox Live Marketplace since the beginning of December.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for PC gamers. As if to offer a small mea culpa for the delayed release, Bethesda Softworks issued a sizable patch this morning for Skyrim’s HD Texture Pack that brings all three of the game’s extant DLC packs in line with the improved graphics seen in the initial version of the game. The good news about this update is that it’s currently available totally gratis. Visit Steam, click the appropriate download buttons, and you’re all set. The bad news though, is that the improved aesthetics will demand more from your computer. Take a look at the HD Texture Pack’s recommended system requirements:

  • Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
  • Memory: 4GB System RAM
  • Video Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon 4890 or higher)

The system requirements found on the back of Skyrim’s box serve as the HD Texture Pack’s minimum requirements, though as with any PC release those attempting to play the game at or near minimum requirements will likely experience a lot of graphical issues, framerate drops, and overall poor performance. 

As for how the patch works, it’s quite simple: Included within the patch are textures at a higher resolution than those originally featured in Skyrim. By switching in these textures for their low-res counterparts, Bethesda is able to offer an especially pretty game to those with the computing power to run it, using a minimum of extra development resources. The end result is a free patch that makes an already attractive game even more impressive.

Sadly, there is no chance of the HD Texture Pack being released on either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Neither system features enough onboard memory to properly utilize these expanded textures. Thus, consider this patch one of the prime reasons to purchase Skyrim’s PC iteration — well, this and the hundreds of awesome/weird/overtly sexual mods the Skyrim community continually churns out.

Editors' Recommendations

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
The Binding of Isaac adds 'over 100 hours' of gameplay in new DLC
binding of isaac afterbirth dlc out now thumb

A sizable expansion for Edmund McMillen's The Legend of Zelda-inspired roguelike action game The Binding of Isaac is now available on Steam, adding more than 100 hours of potential gameplay to its already expansive quest.

The "Afterbirth" DLC for The Binding of Isaac adds the all-new Greed gameplay mode, which challenges players to survive waves of enemies for as long as possible. Players engage Greed mode by pushing a large button located at the center of an arena, and exponential cash bonuses are rewarded for every wave that players survive before ending the mode by pressing the button a second time.

Read more
As ‘Skyrim’ development ends, Bethesda Softworks turns towards the future

The version 1.9 patch released for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in March did something very important to Bethesda’s monstrously successful role-playing game: The updates makes the game last forever. At least in a manner of speaking - it alters how you level skills, making it so you can build and rebuild them indefinitely. Skyrim also generates quests endlessly, so in theory you could play the game forever. FOREVER. But as for original, new content, the sun is setting on the province of Skyrim. And so, after millions in sales and a series of successful expansions like Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and others, Bethesda Softworks is moving on from Skyrim to its next big project. 
“For the last year and a half we’ve been working on new content for Skyrim; from updates, Creation Kit, Steam Workshop, Kinect support, to DLCs,” reads a message from the team on Bethesda’s official blog, “Parts of our team have also been in pre-production on our next major project, and that is at the point where it requires the studio’s full attention to make it our biggest and best work yet.”
“Even though we’re moving on, we’ll still have minor updates to Skyrim as needed. We’ve invested so much of ourselves into Skyrim and will never truly say goodbye to it.”
It was hard work making sure that the studio could walk away from all versions of Skyrim. It was only in February that the DLCs Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and the final big expansion Dragonborn made it to the PlayStation 3, a conversion that Bethesda wasn’t wholly sure was possible.
What is the next big project for the entire Bethesda team? The rumors throughout 2012 suggested that the game that Bethesda’s pre-production team was hard at work on was none other than Fallout 4. One source claiming to be an MIT employee said in August that Bethesda had sent a number of scouting groups to the campus to gather reference materials for the next post-apocalyptic RPG. According to that source, Fallout 4 will take place in and around the Boston area, the region known as The Commonwealth in the series' fiction. Bethesda does own the URL Fallout4.com, but its held those rights for nine years, so it’s hardly confirmation of the title.
There may be some new Elder Scrolls other than the upcoming MMO to be had, as well. Game.On.Net noted on Monday that the Australian Classification Database just registered a brand new M for Mature rating for The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the very first game in the series from 1994. The PC version of the game is already available to everyone free of charge online, so this hints at a new version of the game, possibly an HD re-release for consoles or perhaps an iOS version. In the post-Skyrim landscape, it might be good for Bethesda fans to reconnect with their roots.

Read more
Dragons and vampires (finally) invade the PlayStation 3 with the arrival of Skyrim DLC
Dawnguard

Though the wait has been interminably long, we finally have a list of official dates on which Bethesda Softworks will release the three extant downloadable content additions for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to Sony's PlayStation 3 console. February 12 marks the debut of the Dragonborn DLC, February 19 sees the arrival of the Hearthfire DLC, and the Dawnguard expansion makes its PlayStation 3 debut on February 26. As we reported previously, for their first week of availability each of these DLC packs will be discounted by 50-percent. As a result, Dawnguard and Dragonborn will set you back a mere $10 each, while Hearthfire will cost only $2.50. Those figures double after the initial week, so if you're hoping to pick up any of these additions you should plan to do so shortly after they appear on the Sony Entertainment Network.
Sadly, those of you who live in England, Australia, or any place that isn't North America may have to wait a bit longer to enjoy these DLC packs on their PlayStation 3 consoles. The above release schedule only applies to countries on that particular continent, and so far there's no word on when (or if) these DLC offerings will make the leap across the Atlantic, Pacific, or whichever other body of water lies between your home and the United States. Presumably Bethesda Softworks would make every effort to release the DLC as rapidly as possible to all points on the map - European money spends as well as anyone else's -  but that assumes the company has that ability and sees a lucrative opportunity in releasing Skyrim's extra content in other territories.
As for what PS3 owners can expect from each of the DLC packs, the short answer is vampirism, crossbows, dragon priests, ancient evil, and the ability to build your own house. Dawnguard drops players into the middle of a war between a group of vampires and those who hunt them. Hearthfire offers the opportunity to adopt children and construct your own homestead. Dragonborn, the best of the current DLC offerings, allows players to ride dragons (though this feature is far less interesting than you'd expect) and confront the first person to earn the title of "Dragonborn." All told you're looking at roughly another dozen hours of playtime (much more if you opt to explore every nook and cranny) from these DLC packs, so those of you madly in love with Skyrim ought to be salivating right about now. Unless, that is, the last 14 months sans downloadable content additions has completely drained your desire to ever again explore the world of Tamriel. 

Read more