Record Breaking Sales of Bethesda Softworks’

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Huge Demand for Highly Acclaimed Next-Generation Game

April 10, 2006 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks® announced that its hit title, The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion™  has achieved record sales, reflecting huge market demand for the title.  Over 1.7 million units of Oblivion for the PC and Xbox 360 have been shipped since the launch of the game. 

In North America, Oblivion has become the fastest selling game released on the Xbox 360. The NPD Group Inc reports Oblivion PC as the best selling PC game, while the Oblivion Collectors Edition is ranked number 2. NPD reports that Oblivion represented approximately 13% of all PC game sales in the first week of its release, more than four times the sales volume of the next best selling title.  (The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind®, the highly-regarded predecessor to Oblivion, remains one of the top 25 best selling PC games nearly four years after its release, according to NPD). European results have been similarly strong with Oblivion quickly becoming ranked the number one selling title in the UK, Germany and France.

Oblivion has earned high praise and awards from publications around the world. Official Xbox Magazine (US) gave Oblivion a 9.5 out of 10 and an Editor’s Choice award, calling Oblivion “An Absolute Masterpiece.” PC Gamer (US) awarded it an Editor’s Choice Award and a score of 95%, calling it “a classic” and “one of the best RPGs ever made.” And the largest circulation gaming magazine in the world, Game Informer, gave Oblivion 9.5 out of 10 and said, “The bar for the next generation of RPGs has just been set.”

Reaction around the world has been equally laudatory. Oblivion has been featured on more than 30 magazine covers in the US, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Benelux, and other countries. The leading PC game magazine in Great Britain rated it a “Must Buy” and said Oblivion “is one of those rare and wonderful treats of gaming that’s so recklessly ambitious and staggeringly accomplished that it makes even great games…seem small-minded and clumsy by comparison.”

Oblivion is currently the #1 ranked Xbox 360 game and the #1 ranked PC game on both MetaCritic.com and GameRankings.com. MetaCritic and GameRankings are sites that calculate a ranking of games based on review scores published by recognized print, broadcast, and online media outlets around the world.

Oblivion was released in five different languages—English, French, German, Spanish and Italian—and packaged as a regular edition and a collector’s edition in North America, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia. Bethesda Softworks’ 368-page Official Game Guide offers hints and strategies to those playing the game, and has experienced unusually favorable attach ratios to game sales. The book was ranked #10 on the Amazon list of bestselling books in the first week after release.

The long-awaited Oblivion represents the quintessential role-playing experience for the next-generation of gaming, inviting gamers into the sprawling environments of Tamriel, the most vibrant game-world ever created. With a powerful combination of free-form gameplay, unprecedented graphics, cutting edge AI, character voices by well known actors, and a masterful musical score, gamers can choose to unravel Oblivion’s epic narrative or simply explore the vast landscape in search of their own unique challenges.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB and is available for both the PC and the Xbox 360 in regular and collector’s editions. For more information on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, visit www.elderscrolls.com.

About Bethesda Softworks

Headquartered in Rockville, MD, Bethesda Softworks LLC, a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media Inc., is a premier developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software and has produced numerous award-winning titles. Among Bethesda’s more popular franchises are The Elder Scrolls® series and Fallout®, as well as its licensed properties, Pirates of the Caribbean™ and Star Trek®. Its product line spans the sports, racing, RPG, strategy, and action genres. For more information on Bethesda Softworks’ products, visit www.bethsoft.com. 

© 2006 Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media company. The Elder Scrolls, Oblivion, Morrowind, Daggerfall, Arena, Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax and their related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the United States and/or in other countries. Microsoft, Xbox, the Xbox logo, Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 logo, Xbox Live, and the Xbox Live logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from owner. Other product and company names referenced herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. All Rights Reserved.