Oblivion Remastered: Most Players Skip Main Quest

A month after its release, only a small number of players have finished the main story of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. However, this is hardly surprising for a game of this type — many fans report being completely absorbed by the wealth of other activities available.

I'm one of those fans myself! Since its unexpected launch on April 22, I've been thoroughly enjoying the remastered edition. After emerging from the sewers and delivering the Amulet of Kings to Jauffre at Weynon Priory, I’ve focused on everything except the main storyline. I’ve become a member of the Fighters Guild, traveled across Cyrodiil, and completed numerous side missions. I’ve even attempted to push beyond the game's boundaries, following reports from another player who successfully broke out of the map.

What’s the reason? For one, the side quests in Oblivion are incredibly engaging (no spoilers here). More importantly, I'm delaying the main quest — and its notoriously challenging parts like Kvatch — while also trying to keep my character level from rising too quickly.

So for now, I'm simply enjoying the world of Oblivion until I reach the point where I feel ready to tackle the central narrative. But let’s be honest — is there really a "correct" way to play a Bethesda title like this? That’s the beauty of these games. You have the freedom to do as you please, whenever you please, and the experience remains seamless.

It appears many other players share this approach. “I'm too BUSY doing OTHER THINGS like searching for SLAUGHTERFISH in Lake Rumare,” the brilliantly-named Reddit user MrCrispyFriedChicken commented when discussing the low completion rate for Oblivion Remastered’s main story.

“I've already sunk 160 hours into the game and still haven’t made it to Kvatch,” added Roffear. “I’m one of those strange players who genuinely enjoys the Oblivion gates, so I intentionally avoid finishing the main quest until I’ve located and sealed all 60 gates in my world,” shared Ellert0. “After 44 hours and a full in-game year, I still haven't even visited Weynon Priory,” said PlayaHatinIG-88. “The unfortunate city guards in Kvatch never stood a chance.”

At the time this article was written, a mere 2.97% of players had completed Oblivion Remastered’s main story on Xbox, while the figure was slightly higher on Steam at 4.4%. Why the discrepancy? This is likely due to Xbox including Game Pass users — many of whom may have tried the game briefly before moving on. Steam players, on the other hand, were fully committed, having purchased the title outright.

Still, the numbers are notably low for Oblivion Remastered, which has already attracted more than 4 million players. However, most video games tend to have lower-than-expected campaign completion rates — whether it’s a massive, 100-hour open-world RPG like this, or a five-hour linear story like Call of Duty. In fact, a surprising number of players don’t progress far beyond the opening hours, even after completing the tutorial. Such is the unpredictable nature of gaming audiences.

In the case of Oblivion Remastered, these statistics may be further influenced by the fact that it’s a polished version of a classic game that many players completed years ago. If you finished the main quest two decades ago, you may prefer to skip it this time and instead explore the beautiful new graphics and enhancements. Or, like one dedicated player, you might spend seven hours carefully aligning books to set up a perfect Dominoes-style chain reaction.

Thaddeus122 explained that they had invested almost 100 hours into the game and still hadn't completed even three of the primary missions. However, they had fully finished the Arena and the Mages Guild storylines. And the rest of their playtime? “Leveling up, earning enough gold to purchase properties, closing every Oblivion gate, finishing the Nirnroot quest, and tackling a variety of smaller tasks. Oh, and I don’t use fast travel at all.”

Have You Completed the Main Questline in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered?

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