Oblivion Remastered surprise-launched this week, but less surprising was the game’s Mature ESRB rating. Oblivion wasn’t always rated Mature, however–when the game first launched in 2006, it was released with a Teen rating, which was quickly changed by the ESRB.
After launching with a T rating, the ESRB ratings board had to issue a correction, bumping the rating up to Mature due to “due to the presence of content that was not fully disclosed when the game was originally submitted to ESRB for rating.”
The ratings change was partially due to depictions of blood and gore that were more graphic in-game than initially anticipated, but the ESRB had also picked up on a partially nude female model that could be accessed in the PC version of the game using mods. This inclusion–however it ended up in the game’s files–resulted in Oblivion getting a “Nudity” label until the offending files were patched out.
Oblivion Remastered has been rated under the original Oblivion ESRB listing, and so it has the same rating description as the original: Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Language, and Use of Alcohol. Despite getting the same rating, the remaster has a number of changes from the 2006 classic, including new lines of dialogue as well as plentiful quality-of-life changes.
Oblivion Remastered is out now on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S, and is included on Game Pass for Xbox and PC. While Bethesda doesn’t officially support mods for the remaster, it’s still possible to mod the game, and the modding scene is lighting up.
If you’re just getting started in Oblivion, or coming back to it after a long break, check out our full walkthrough for a guide to all aspects of the game.