Skyrim Anniversary Edition: same content, four different prices

Where to buy The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition and how to pay

The Special Edition, which includes the three original expansions, costs £34.99 on every PC and console store. The Anniversary Edition adds 74 extra Creations (quests, dungeons, weapons, fishing) for £42.99 on PC, but £47.99 on PlayStation and Xbox and £52.99 on Switch 2. If you already own the Special Edition, the £15.99 Anniversary Upgrade is the way to add the extras; if you own nothing, the PC Anniversary Edition is cheaper than buying the Special Edition and the upgrade separately (£50.98).

PlayStation purchases include both the PS4 and PS5 versions, and Xbox uses Smart Delivery. Switch 1 owners of the Anniversary Edition get the Switch 2 version free.

A Bethesda sale runs until 7 October on GOG and PlayStation and until 8 October on Microsoft and Xbox: the Special Edition is £8.74 to £8.75 and the Anniversary Edition from £14.18. Steam showed no discount on the day we checked.

Subscriptions that include it

The Special Edition is in PC Game Pass, the Premium and Ultimate tiers of Xbox Game Pass and the PlayStation Plus Extra catalogue. The Anniversary content is not included in any of them, although Game Pass members get a member discount on it. For a single playthrough of the main quest, a month or two of a subscription costs less than buying.

In-game money: Creation Credits

Paid Creations, the add-ons made by Bethesda and approved creators, are bought with Creation Credits. On Steam the packs are 500 for £4.99, 1,000 for £8.99, 2,700 for £21.99 and 5,500 for £42.99; PlayStation charges £43.00 for the largest. Credits buy fixed, named items only, and free mods sit in the same menu.

Since an update on 20 August 2026 Creations can be sold as bundles, which may cut the per-item cost but also invites bigger single purchases. Check the credits you already hold before buying a pack.

Work out a purchase in Pack maths

What you are paying for

You are the Dragonborn, able to absorb the souls of dragons and use their shouts, loose in a huge northern province full of cities, ruins and side stories. Skills improve as you use them rather than through a fixed class, and difficulty can be changed at any time across six levels.

HowLongToBeat players report about 26 hours for the main quest, over 100 with side content and about 200 to see everything. It is strictly single-player and needs no internet connection. Mods run on PC, Xbox and PlayStation, and console mod storage was raised in August 2026.

Which edition to buy

For most people the Special Edition is enough: the Anniversary extras are pleasant but uneven, and critics rated that edition lower than the base game. Choose Anniversary if you want the added fishing, gear and quests, and buy it on PC if you can, where it costs £5 less than on console.

How the score adds up

Questions buyers ask

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