Skyrim Anniversary Edition: PS5 vs Xbox Series X/S Upgrades Tested

Skyrim is back once again with a new 'Anniversary Edition' that not only adds new content but also gives a bit of bespoke attention to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles - replacing the need to use user mods or FPS Boost to get the game running at 60fps. Given we were already looking at 4K on PS5 and Series X, what's changed? And is Series S still running at 1080p? Actually, no!

Please Note: Despite resolution differences, performance differences and faster loading, Xbox Series isn't actually a native application - it's still built on the older XDK and is 'Gen 9 Aware'.

[MidWitPride]

Kinda makes you forget that there was only a 5 year gap between Oblivion and Skyrim. And 4 year gap between Morrowind and Oblivion.
Now we are going +10years with Skyrim.

[dooleh]

You can play a different version of Skyrim every year now for the rest of your life, no matter how long you live.

[MINUANOGAMING]

It's also worth mentioning that running the native PS5 app will save you about 15GBs in comparison to the PS4 app. The reason why, is because Sony's backwards compatibility solution creates some chunky files that are needed to emulate the PS4 apps, those files will be labelled as "Other" in your storage management screen, and you can't access the folder. That's a huge plus, since we only have 600GB to work with.

[Eispfogel]

So many years and so many versions..and we still can't change that incredible narrow FOV on consoles...

[repvoid]

I wish Oblivion got the love Skyrim enjoyed over the years with upgrades. That game slaps.

[dovahkiin]

"Some people call this junk. Me? I call it treasure."

[Console_Gaming_Vids]

Richard: Good news, Tom, we’ve hired more people so you can get away from Cyberpunk.

Tom: That’s excellent! What am I covering?

Richard: ……….Skyrim.

[UberNoodle]

Yes you get the upgrade for free, but the Anniversary Edition content has to be bought separately, and the game will pester you on the main menu screen forever until you buy it, and it will add at least 5 to 10 seconds to your initial menu load depending on how long the game takes to check the internet for whether you own the added content or not and display the pester message.

[stijnzwijn]

Worth mentioning: Skyrim Anniversary Edition can run from an external HDD/SDD on Xbox Series even though it's labelled as optimized for Series X/S

[Garrison]

Free upgrade to PS5 version was nice. Wasn’t expecting that. Really loving Skyrim on the PS5. Just picked one up recently and decided to give Skyrim a try. Old save loaded right up no issues. Just had to download my mods but that only took seconds. The new 2 second load times into zones make everything so much smoother. Basically I didn’t have to pay anything and got a great upgrade in overall performance and appearance. Very happy with it so far.

[aleksmeister]

Digital Foundry been testing this game for 10 years, still showing off the first 10 minutes of gameplay

[briancorley]

The soundtrack for this game is timeless

[nicktronson]

They are currently developing a 60FPS -4k Master System version of Skyrim in Brazil for hopefully Fall 2023.

[markcarr]

"It's been 10 years since Skyrim was released. And with 7 different releases afterwards, we dive into the 8th and most recent to see if this truly is the best Skyrim ever, "

[davidludwig]

I have been waiting for this video. Thanks Digital Foundry!

[ihsaanrawat]

Bro loading times are seriously one of the best things about this gen

[AlkamistGames]

There are three things guaranteed in life: Death, Taxes…and Skyrim.

[depthconnection]

the game plays so well on Series S. the short load times really help with the immersion and flow of the game and makes for such an enjoyable experience. locked 60 FPS is so smooth!

[dwijaksara]

I literally laughing as I see the title. Cant believe seeing Skyrim coverage again near the end of 2021

[millrrs]

Tom my friend, glad you made this video. Keep the good work mate.