What it is
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is Bethesda Game Studios’ open-world role-playing game set in Tamriel’s rugged northern province. The original Xbox 360 release arrived in the UK on Friday, 11 November 2011, as part of the worldwide 11.11.11 launch. It remains one of the defining single-player RPGs of its generation, although the original 360 version is now best approached as a piece of Xbox history rather than the cleanest modern way to play.
- UK release
- Friday, 11 November 2011
- Platforms
- Xbox 360
- Developer
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher
- Bethesda Softworks
- UK price (launch RRP)
- £39.99 standard; £129.99 Collector’s Edition
- PEGI
- 18
- Genre
- Role-playing (RPG)
- Online mode
- No — single-player only
Story and setting
Skyrim begins with dragons returning to Tamriel after centuries of absence, while a civil war threatens to tear the province apart. You play as the Dragonborn, a mortal capable of learning the power of the dragons’ Thu’um, but the main story is only one part of the experience. You can follow the central quest, join competing factions, investigate local disputes or ignore the larger crisis for dozens of hours.
The province is built for wandering. Snow-covered mountains, Nordic ruins, mines, forts, cities and settlements are connected by roads, wilderness and underground dungeons. Skyrim’s strongest writing often appears in its smaller stories, where a seemingly routine favour leads to a crypt, a political dispute or an encounter with a faction you had not planned to join.
How it plays
This is a first- or third-person RPG with real-time combat and a flexible character system rather than fixed classes. Your skills improve through use, while perks let you specialise in weapons, armour, stealth, magic, alchemy, smithing, speech and more. You can fight with a sword and shield, combine two different weapons or spells, use stealth and archery, or build a character around the Dragonborn’s Shouts.
The freedom is substantial, though it comes with familiar Bethesda rough edges. Quests can be completed in unexpected orders, objects and characters occasionally behave strangely, and melee combat feels less precise than in more focused action games. The reward is a game where exploration, character building and emergent accidents regularly produce stories that were not scripted as a single sequence.
What changed after launch
The Xbox 360 version received a long run of title updates, including fixes for stability, quests, graphics and other technical problems. The final Legendary Edition installation applies version 1.9 and includes all three official add-ons: Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn.
Dawnguard adds a major vampire-versus-vampire-hunter storyline and the Vampire Lord form. Hearthfire focuses on buying land, building and furnishing homes, and adopting children. Dragonborn takes you to Solstheim, an island off the coast of Morrowind, for a larger expansion with new quests, locations, enemies and the ability to ride dragons. The original Xbox 360 game also gained Kinect voice commands through a free update, although that feature is now mainly of historical interest.
Xbox 360 performance and reception
On Xbox 360, Skyrim generally targets around 30 frames per second, but Digital Foundry recorded occasional tearing as the game prioritised responsiveness. The launch version also suffered from a texture-streaming problem for some players who installed it to the console’s hard drive, causing nearby surfaces to appear at reduced quality until Bethesda issued a fix. Expect texture pop-in, long loads and the occasional bug even after the patches.
The critical response was nevertheless exceptional. Game Informer awarded the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions 9.5 out of 10, while GameSpot gave its review 9 out of 10. The Xbox 360 release holds a 96 Metascore on Metacritic, reflecting praise for its scale, world design, music and freedom alongside criticism of dated combat and technical problems.
UK price and availability
The original UK launch price was £39.99 for the standard edition. The limited Collector’s Edition launched at £129.99 and included an Alduin statue, a substantial art book and a making-of DVD. Those are historical launch RRPs rather than current recommended prices, and any present-day second-hand value depends on condition, completeness and whether the map or Collector’s Edition extras are included.
The Xbox 360 Store stopped accepting new purchases of games and downloadable content on 29 July 2024. Existing purchases remain playable and downloadable, but anyone buying for original hardware should favour a physical copy. The Legendary Edition is the most straightforward option if you want the complete Xbox 360 package, as its second disc installs Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn alongside the 1.9 update.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: your questions
When was Skyrim released in the UK?
The original Xbox 360 release launched in the UK on Friday, 11 November 2011. Some launch coverage appeared on 10 November because retailers held midnight events, but 11 November was the official 11.11.11 release date.
Does Skyrim have an online mode?
No. The original Xbox 360 version is a single-player game with no online multiplayer or co-operative mode.
Which Skyrim DLC is on Xbox 360?
The official Xbox 360 expansions are Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn. All three are included in the Legendary Edition.
Can you use mods on Skyrim Xbox 360?
No. Official console mod support arrived with Skyrim Special Edition on later platforms; the original Xbox 360 release does not have the in-game Creations or Mods browser.
Which Xbox 360 version of Skyrim should you buy?
The Legendary Edition is the best choice if you want the complete original-console release, because it includes the base game and all three expansions. A standard copy is still playable, but the Xbox 360 Store no longer accepts new DLC purchases.
