New Skyrim DLC and Major Update Possibly Leaked

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim may be 11 years old but it's still played by many, a testament to its quality, vibrant mod scene, and Bethesda's strategy of re-releasing it on every platform in existence. New updates for an 11-year-old game are usually out of question, let alone new DLC, but not for Skyrim. Until The Elder Scrolls VI comes out, Skyrim is going to continue to be relevant thanks to the simple fact it's the latest mainline Elder Scrolls game. And Elder Scrolls 6 is not going to release anytime soon, so Skyrim will continue to be relevant for at least several years, which opens the door for new updates, new smaller and downloadable content, and possibly new opportunities to sell the game again. All of this brings us to a new SteamDB update, which in turns points to a major update to the game and possibly some DLC as well.

Bethesda Game Studios has been working on something for Skyrim, and we know this because of its Steam files. The evidence involves something called "Branches" and a lot of other technical jargon. All you need to know though is that Bethesda has been working on something with Skyrim that seemingly involves adding a Marketplace to the game, which would presumably involve paid mods as well. 

Below, you can check out a video from YouTuber JuiceHead that dives deeper into the discovery and its implications:

For now, all we have are some encrypted Steam files and a lot of speculation, but it does seem like -- at the bare minimum -- Bethesda Game Studios is working on adding some type of Marketplace to the game involving paid mods, and this update could be released alongside new DLC as well. Think of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Anniversary Edition, which added some smaller bits of content to the game.

At the moment of publishing, Bethesda has not commented on any of this. We don't expect this to change, but if it does, we will be sure to update the story accordingly. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think. What do you think about a Marketplace being added to Skyrim?