Intern Mixes Up Roman Numerals, Causing Bethesda to Release Oblivion Instead of Elder Scrolls VI

ROCKVILLE, MD — In what industry analysts are calling “the most on-brand screw-up in gaming history,” Bethesda Softworks accidentally re-released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion this week after a summer intern mistook the Roman numeral “VI” for “IV,” causing the studio to ship a 19-year-old game instead of the long-awaited Elder Scrolls VI.

The error, which has sparked equal parts confusion, nostalgia, and ironic praise, came to light during Bethesda’s heavily-hyped launch event, where fans expecting next-gen graphics and revolutionary gameplay were instead greeted with a loading screen and character models last seen during the Bush administration.

“Our intern, Tyler, was in charge of final packaging and apparently thought ‘IV’ meant six because, quote, ‘V is a checkmark and that’s how many games I’ve checked off,’” said Bethesda spokesman Randall Groth. “Honestly, we didn’t notice until the servers lit up with 2006-era bug reports.”

Sources inside Bethesda confirmed that the re-released Oblivion had been hastily upscaled to 1080p and relabeled Elder Scrolls VI: Valley of the Forgotten. The game included no additional content, though it did feature a new subtitle screen font and an AI-generated Sean Bean voiceover that simply loops the phrase “This is fine” during combat.

Despite the mishap, early sales numbers have been surprisingly positive. Analysts credit a combination of nostalgia, lowered expectations, and the fact that many fans assumed Bethesda had just gone “full retro” as a bold artistic statement.

“I thought the low-res graphics were a metaphor for the degradation of memory over time,” said Reddit user @DaedricDaddy420. “Then I realized, no, they just re-released Oblivion. Still 10/10.”

Bethesda has since attempted damage control, issuing a patch that changes all in-game references to “Oblivion” with vague placeholder terms like “The Sixth One” and “Next Adventure.” However, due to engine limitations, most NPCs now simply yell “BUG FIX TEXT HERE” before walking backwards into walls.

In a statement posted to X (formerly known as Twitter, and now known again as “a mistake”), Bethesda CEO Todd Howard took responsibility but stopped short of calling it an error. “Did we mean to do it? No. But did it sell? Yes. So in a way… we meant to do it,” Howard said before winking so hard his face rebooted.

Meanwhile, intern Tyler has been reassigned to Bethesda’s newly formed Department of Roman Numeral Compliance, where he is reportedly working on a remaster of Fallout -1.