The Game Census
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition cover art

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

Bethesda Game Studios · Bethesda Softworks · 2016-10-27

SteamGOGPlayStation StoreEpic Games StoreAmazonMicrosoft Store

RPG

Franchise: The Elder Scrolls · Modes: Single player

Releases: Oct 27, 2016 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Nov 11, 2021 (PlayStation 5), Nov 11, 2021 (Xbox Series X|S), Oct 28, 2016 (PlayStation 4), Oct 28, 2016 (Xbox One), Nov 17, 2017 (Nintendo Switch)

Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition brings the epic fantasy to life in stunning detail. The Special Edition includes the critically acclaimed game and add-ons with all-new features.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is a $9.99 game released in 2016, estimated to have 5,000,000 .. 10,000,000 owners, with Very Positive (92% of 373,294 reviews) in the RPG genre.

34,773
playing now
92%
positive of 376k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
5,000,000–10,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
1,017
twitch viewers (latest)
82/100
critic score (19 outlets, IGDB)
88/100
IGDB user rating (425 ratings)
81/100
opencritic · strong · 83% recommend
180h
to beat · rushed 69h · completionist 368h
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$9.99
steam price (US)

34,773 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 15:00 UTC (census sample)

The Empire of Tamriel is on the edge. The High King of Skyrim has been murdered. Alliances form as claims to the throne are made. In the midst of this conflict, a far more dangerous, ancient evil is awakened. Dragons, long lost to the passages of the Elder Scrolls, have returned to Tamriel. The future of Skyrim, even the Empire itself, hangs in the balance as they wait for the prophesized Dragonborn to come; a hero born with the power of The Voice, and the only one who can stand amongst the dragons.(Storyline via IGDB)

Health check

Thriving
  • · 34,773 players in-game right now — a Steam top-100 title.
  • · 17,507 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~2,188/week).
  • · Review velocity up 2% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 1% of 6,126 RPG games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 9.4M–23M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 376,081 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GreenManGaming$8.60-78%
GOG$9.99-75%
Microsoft Store$39.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $3.99 at Steam (2025-01-16) · bundled 7×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $39.99 · on sale 66 of 96 observed days · $4.61 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
5.4k5.4k20182026Week of 2018-01-01: 359 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 260 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 211 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 417 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 88 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 271 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 393 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 58 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 365 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 48 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 370 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 74 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 232 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 197 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 1,046 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 380 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 324 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 49 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 380 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 70 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 300 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 264 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 223 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 1,353 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 73 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 1,798 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 104 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 356 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 254 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 535 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 3,331 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 70 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 3,510 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 71 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 3,004 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 1,931 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 57 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 2,119 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 2,121 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 63 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 1,888 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 2,935 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 111 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 3,327 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 106 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 3,707 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 210 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 1,856 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 53 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 1,697 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 2,413 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 66 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 3,196 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 92 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 3,694 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 93 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 3,104 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 84 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 2,135 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 1,952 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 2,352 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 83 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 2,053 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 71 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 2,974 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 111 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 3,474 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 145 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 2,237 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 84 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 2,231 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 104 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 5,397 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 714 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 3,536 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 380 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 3,380 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 233 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 2,256 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 111 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 1,677 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 143 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 1,485 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 82 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 1,760 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 115 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 2,172 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 108 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 2,578 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 136 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 2,515 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 135 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 1,978 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 182 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 2,151 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 157 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 3,310 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 155 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 2,931 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 129 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 2,939 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 145 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 2,481 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 113 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 2,220 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 100 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 1,693 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 1,984 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 86 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 1,943 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 95 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 2,952 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 125 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 3,182 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 150 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 1,973 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 2,552 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 156 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 3,259 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 97 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 3,235 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 1,278 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 3,065 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 428 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 2,435 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 228 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 2,235 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 154 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 1,732 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 122 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 2,129 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 140 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 2,008 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 106 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 2,134 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 122 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 2,435 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 123 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 1,663 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 79 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 1,451 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 1,910 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 2,859 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 144 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 5,108 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 276 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 3,014 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 120 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 2,655 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 105 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 2,124 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 101 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 2,296 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 148 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 2,200 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 125 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 2,019 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 94 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 2,108 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 112 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 1,449 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 221 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 1,881 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 79 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 2,066 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 115 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 2,622 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 115 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 2,548 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 122 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 1,999 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 1,936 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 91 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 1,530 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 1,658 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 101 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 2,153 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 103 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 2,271 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 103 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 477 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 25 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

44k15k2026-08-06 16:00 — 28,635 players2026-08-07 07:00 — 17,862 players2026-08-07 22:00 — 32,059 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 29,127 players2026-08-09 04:00 — 29,322 players2026-08-09 19:00 — 44,284 players2026-08-10 10:00 — 20,108 players2026-08-11 01:00 — 30,759 players2026-08-11 16:00 — 31,580 players2026-08-12 07:00 — 18,721 players2026-08-12 22:00 — 30,994 players2026-08-13 13:00 — 24,354 players2026-08-14 04:00 — 23,543 players2026-08-14 19:00 — 33,350 players2026-08-15 10:00 — 23,572 players2026-08-16 01:00 — 32,254 players2026-08-16 16:00 — 40,661 players2026-08-17 07:00 — 19,378 players2026-08-17 22:00 — 32,597 players2026-08-18 13:00 — 24,890 players2026-08-19 04:00 — 23,346 players2026-08-19 19:00 — 33,762 players2026-08-20 10:00 — 18,649 players2026-08-21 01:00 — 24,268 players2026-08-21 16:00 — 26,195 players2026-08-22 07:00 — 19,064 players2026-08-22 22:00 — 32,888 players2026-08-23 13:00 — 29,637 players2026-08-24 04:00 — 21,484 players2026-08-24 19:00 — 30,996 players2026-08-25 10:00 — 16,926 players2026-08-26 01:00 — 25,313 players2026-08-26 16:00 — 26,055 players2026-08-27 08:00 — 15,236 players2026-08-27 23:00 — 24,616 players2026-08-28 14:00 — 23,328 players2026-08-29 05:00 — 20,924 players2026-08-29 20:00 — 35,386 players2026-08-30 11:00 — 24,498 players2026-08-30 15:00 — 34,773 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Chart history

#51#612026-08-062026-08-302026-08-06 — #612026-08-07 — #612026-08-08 — #612026-08-09 — #612026-08-10 — #612026-08-11 — #612026-08-12 — #532026-08-13 — #522026-08-14 — #522026-08-15 — #532026-08-16 — #522026-08-17 — #522026-08-18 — #512026-08-19 — #512026-08-20 — #522026-08-21 — #522026-08-22 — #522026-08-23 — #572026-08-24 — #582026-08-25 — #562026-08-26 — #562026-08-27 — #562026-08-28 — #562026-08-29 — #582026-08-30 — #59
Best Steam most-played rank per day (census top-100 snapshots).
PositiveNegative
2312312026-08-072026-08-302026-08-07: 109 new positive2026-08-07: 3 new negative2026-08-08: 131 new positive2026-08-08: 1 new negative2026-08-09: 118 new positive2026-08-09: 7 new negative2026-08-10: 104 new positive2026-08-11: 118 new positive2026-08-11: 2 new negative2026-08-14: 106 new positive2026-08-14: 7 new negative2026-08-15: 113 new positive2026-08-15: 4 new negative2026-08-16: 117 new positive2026-08-16: 8 new negative2026-08-18: 92 new positive2026-08-19: 89 new positive2026-08-19: 7 new negative2026-08-20: 84 new positive2026-08-20: 5 new negative2026-08-21: 179 new positive2026-08-21: 231 new negative2026-08-22: 105 new positive2026-08-22: 193 new negative2026-08-23: 127 new positive2026-08-23: 119 new negative2026-08-24: 91 new positive2026-08-24: 75 new negative2026-08-25: 76 new positive2026-08-25: 42 new negative2026-08-26: 55 new positive2026-08-26: 48 new negative2026-08-27: 79 new positive2026-08-27: 39 new negative2026-08-28: 95 new positive2026-08-28: 113 new negative2026-08-29: 84 new positive2026-08-29: 58 new negative2026-08-30: 87 new positive2026-08-30: 53 new negative
New Steam reviews per day (census review snapshots). Positive above the line, negative below.

Price history

$73.61$6.722016-06-212026-08-302016-06-21 — best price $73.612017-01-07 — best price $24.002017-06-26 — best price $39.992017-11-04 — best price $19.992018-03-23 — best price $35.992018-07-06 — best price $27.992018-09-08 — best price $33.992018-11-28 — best price $32.472019-03-25 — best price $19.992019-08-01 — best price $27.992019-12-20 — best price $19.982020-02-13 — best price $19.562020-05-28 — best price $39.992020-08-03 — best price $20.002020-09-13 — best price $39.992020-10-31 — best price $39.992021-01-17 — best price $24.992021-04-24 — best price $19.992021-08-04 — best price $35.992021-11-24 — best price $10.982022-02-11 — best price $20.002022-06-20 — best price $19.992022-09-19 — best price $11.222022-12-07 — best price $22.992023-03-12 — best price $39.992023-05-23 — best price $9.192023-08-03 — best price $8.372023-12-01 — best price $39.992024-03-04 — best price $31.492024-05-27 — best price $39.992024-08-26 — best price $39.992025-01-02 — best price $39.992025-04-03 — best price $39.992025-06-18 — best price $9.992025-10-27 — best price $39.992026-02-24 — best price $33.592026-06-01 — best price $8.992026-08-30 — best price $8.60
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Twitch viewers

3.6k2292026-08-26 19:15 — 2,938 viewers2026-08-26 21:34 — 1,817 viewers2026-08-27 01:34 — 961 viewers2026-08-27 04:34 — 885 viewers2026-08-27 07:33 — 450 viewers2026-08-27 10:34 — 251 viewers2026-08-27 13:34 — 251 viewers2026-08-27 16:34 — 2,149 viewers2026-08-27 19:34 — 2,112 viewers2026-08-27 23:34 — 683 viewers2026-08-28 02:34 — 898 viewers2026-08-28 05:34 — 501 viewers2026-08-28 08:34 — 397 viewers2026-08-28 11:34 — 399 viewers2026-08-28 14:34 — 895 viewers2026-08-28 17:34 — 2,010 viewers2026-08-28 20:34 — 2,383 viewers2026-08-28 23:34 — 1,000 viewers2026-08-29 02:34 — 836 viewers2026-08-29 05:34 — 506 viewers2026-08-29 08:34 — 265 viewers2026-08-29 11:34 — 1,064 viewers2026-08-29 14:34 — 1,082 viewers2026-08-29 17:34 — 2,745 viewers2026-08-29 20:34 — 3,557 viewers2026-08-29 23:34 — 919 viewers2026-08-30 02:34 — 972 viewers2026-08-30 05:34 — 748 viewers2026-08-30 08:34 — 485 viewers2026-08-30 11:34 — 454 viewers2026-08-30 14:34 — 838 viewers2026-08-30 15:34 — 1,017 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

60+
achievements tracked
72%
earned "Unbound"
15.8%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerSteam AchievementsPlayable without Timed InputSave AnytimeStereo SoundSurround SoundPartial Controller SupportSteam CloudRemote Play on PhoneRemote Play on Tablet2 DLC

8 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Polish, Traditional Chinese, Russian

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)146,9367%75
PS4 (PlayStation)113,5486%76
Xbox One (Xbox)83,8815%75
PS5 (PlayStation)41,5157%76
Windows (Xbox)9,1149%75

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

RPGMagicActionDragonsFantasyModdableAdventureOpen WorldStory RichAtmospheric

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

Savage LandsBorderlands 3Citadel: Forged with FireForce of NatureGreedFallCODE VEINEternity: The Last UnicornTorchlight III

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗Reddit ↗