Library of powerhouse franchises will include DOOM, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, QUAKE, Wolfenstein and RAGE

June 24, 2009 (Rockville, MD) – ZeniMax Media Inc., parent company of noted game publisher Bethesda Softworks, today announced it has completed the acquisition of legendary game studio, id Software, creators of world-renowned games such as DOOM, QUAKE, Wolfenstein, and its upcoming title, RAGE. The acquisition by ZeniMax Media joins together two of the finest, most respected videogame developers in the world, combining the first person shooter (FPS) expertise of id Software with acclaimed role playing game (RPG) developer Bethesda Game Studios – creators of the 2008 Game of the Year, Fallout 3, and the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Bethesda Softworks will publish the titles of id Software other than upcoming releases previously committed to other publishers.

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The next and sadly the last update for the best game in the world Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivionis due to be released. The Fighter’s Stronghold will is available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace for FREE (for one week only) on Monday 15th October.

Some of the more astute of you may remember me reporting this DLC approx 13 months ago. Little seems to have changed as far as the actual content goes. What took them so long though?

With the Fighter’s Stronghold you get to defeat the attacking marauders and become lord of Battlehorn Castle. Located in the Colovian Highlands west of Chorrol, this expansive castle will allow you to live the life of a noble warrior, with private quarters, grand dining hall, wine cellar, barracks, training room and more. And what castle would be complete without a few hidden passages and dark secrets?

Features

• A fully detailed castle for you to explore
• Knights of the True Horn patrol the castle and do your bidding
• Secret treasure vault
• Upgrade the furnishings in every area of the castle
• Hire a vintner to create special wines to enhance your fighting abilities
• Hire a combat trainer to spar with
• Hire a taxidermist to craft lifelike trophies for your great hall
• Purchase an ancient Dwemer Forge that buffs your Armorer skill

Good news everybody, Bethesda Softworks has now released a patch for the very annoying Oblivion Shivering Isles bugs. The patch will be automatically downloaded and installed the next time you connect to Xbox Live and load up Oblivion.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a crash caused by bad form IDs
• Fixes an issue where the game would try to use a form IDs that was either restricted or not available yet.
• Fixed an issue where form IDs were not being marked as free properly, causing objects to disappear in game.

It’s getting exciting now with the imminent release of the Shivering Isles, the next Oblivion instalment coming very soon. Well over at Xbox360Achievements.org they have revealed the 10 new achievements that will be coming with the game. Check it out…

Tourist, Shivering Isles - 20
Entered the Shivering Isles

Aspirant, Shivering Isles - 20
Reached Aspirant Rank in the Court of Madness

Citizen, Shivering Isles - 20
Reached Citizen Rank in the Court of Madness

Madman, Shivering Isles - 20
Reached Madman Rank in the Court of Madness

Honored Madman, Shivering Isles - 20
Reached Honored Madman Rank in the Court of Madness

Duke Dementia, Shivering Isles - 30
Reached Duke of Dementia Rank in the Court of Madness

Duke Mania, Shivering Isles – 30
Reached Duke of Mania Rank in the Court of Madness

Regent, Shivering Isles – 20
Reached Regent Rank in the Court of Madness

Defender, Shivering Isles – 20
Reached Defender of the Realm Rank in the Court of Madness

Madgod, Shivering Isles – 50
Stopped the Greymarch

Bethesda Softworks has now confirmed that the next instalment of the Oblivion, the Shivering Isles, will include 250 gamer points and 10 new achievements. This fits in with Microsoft’s new game achievement policy which allows DLC to existing games to increase their gamer score above the 1000 point mark.

So to celebrate these new achievements, how about some new Shivering Isles screen shots… 

The next instalment in the Oblivion saga ‘the Shivering Isles‘ is due for release sometime in March 2007. The Shivering Isles expansion pack will only be available via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Rumours are putting the size of the download at a whopping 1.5 Gigabytes and somewhere in the region of £15 to £20 (still a bargain at double the price IMO).

And to get you in the mood, here’s some new Shivering Isles screen shots.

Hot on the heals of the Knights of the Nine addon, Bethesda Softworks have announced that the next and biggest Oblivion expansion is in the works. Planned for a Spring release, the Shivering Isles features more than 30 hours of new gameplay and allows you to explore an entirely new plane of Oblivion - the realm of Sheogorath.

Shivering Isles features more than 30 hours of new gameplay and allows you to explore an entirely new plane of Oblivion – the realm of Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness. Shivering Isles adds to the existing world of Oblivion so you can continue playing with your existing save game/character, or create an all new character just to explore the new content. 

“We’re thrilled with the response that Oblivion has received to date and feel that Shivering Isles will offer a whole new and different experience to anyone who played and enjoyed Oblivion,” said Todd Howard, executive producer for The Elder Scrolls.

Within the Realm of Sheogorath, players can explore the two extreme sides of the god’s madness – the sublimely creative and the completely psychotic. Something is happening to the Shivering Isles and Sheogorath himself looks to you to be his champion and defend his realm and its inhabitants from destruction. Do you have the strength to survive his trials, tame a realm fraught with paranoia and despair, and wear the mantle of a God?

The Shivering Isles features a bizarre landscape split between the two sides – Mania and Dementia –filled with vast, twisting dungeons mirroring the roots of the trees they are buried within. You’ll encounter more than a dozen new creatures including hideous insects, Flesh Atronachs, skeletal Shambles, amphibious Grummites. Throughout your adventure, you will discover all new items, ingredients, spells, and more, and have the talented craftsmen of Crucible and Bliss forge new armor and weapons just for you.

Hey, fantastic news for Oblivion owners both new and old. The excellent Mehrunes’ Razor is now available to download for FREE via the Xbox Live marketplace for a limited period starting this Friday, 22nd December and lasting until Monday 1st January. After this date it will revert back to its normal price.

Find out more about Mehrunes’ Razor here… 

The next update for the best game in the world Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion has finally been released. Knights of the Nine is available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace at 800 gamerpoints.

Knights of the Nine features an all-new faction and quests for noble characters and answers many of the questions surrounding the Ayleid ruins found throughout Oblivion. Players can join a new faction and found their own order of holy knights - leading them into battle against a sorcerer-king and his demonic minions while exploring massive dungeons and searching for legendary relics – the holy armor and weapons of the Divine Crusader.

Features

Begin a New Faction – The Knights of the Nine have long been disbanded. Reclaim their former glory as you traverse the far reaches of Cyrodill across an epic quest line.

• Battle New Foes – Encounter Umaril, the ancient Ayleid Sorcerer-King, and his minions, the fearsome Aurorans.
• Discover Unique Items – An entirely new armor set and weapons, each with unique powers, are within your grasp…if you are worthy.

Some exciting news for Oblivion fans, Knights of the Nine content will be available for download and retail on 21st November. The download will include both extra quests and a new faction.

Bethesda Softworks today announced plans to make its new Knights of the Nine content for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion available for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows via download and a new retail Windows product. Knights of the Nine will be available through Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 and www.OblivionDownloads.com on November 21st.

Knights of the Nine will also be available as a Windows boxed product at retail on the 21st. The retail version of Knights of the Nine is a compilation that will include all the other Oblivion downloadable content released to date: Horse Armor, The Orrery, Wizard’s Tower, Vile Lair, Thieves Den, Mehrunes’ Razor, and Spell Tomes. Bethesda Softworks will publish and distribute Knights of the Nine at retail directly in North America and through a co-publisher arrangement with Ubisoft in Europe.

“We’re pleased to bring this new content to Xbox 360 and to Windows gamers who have been so supportive of Oblivion,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “To date, the response to our new downloadable content has been terrific – it’s easily the most popular downloadable content on Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 and has been very popular for Windows as well – and we think the opportunity to enjoy an entirely new faction and quests is something our fans will be eager to try.”

Knights of the Nine features an all-new faction and quests for noble characters and answers many of the questions surrounding the Ayleid ruins found throughout Oblivion. Players can join a new faction and found their own order of holy knights – leading them into battle against a sorcerer-king and his demonic minions while exploring massive dungeons and searching for legendary relics – the holy armor and weapons of the Divine Crusader.