This page is for the Special Edition. For the original game, see The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. For the VR version, see The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR.
Key points
- Remastered version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Improvements include higher-quality textures, built-in modding, engine optimization, full 64-bit support and a variety of new graphical and lighting effects.
- Free to those who owned the original game and all its DLC on or before October 28, 2016.[1]
- A significant number of graphics options are missing from the launcher's graphics option menu. The number of tweakable options in the config files has also been significantly reduced.
General information
- Official forums
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- All versions require Steam DRM.
Essential improvements
Skip intro videos
Modify configuration file[2]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
Skyrim.ini .
- Go to the
[General] section.
- Add the following line
sIntroSequence= .
- Save your changes.
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Patches
- Community-created patches which fix many issues which otherwise remain unresolved in the official patches, such as quest bugs, rendering issues and subtitle coding errors.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
- Save data from the original game can be copied and used with Special Edition;[3] however, save files that are using mods may not work.[4]
System |
Native |
Notes |
OneDrive |
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Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
Steam Cloud |
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Syncs up to 953.67 MB of saves online. |
Video settings
Launcher graphics settings.
Launcher advanced graphics settings.
In-game general settings.
Template:Video settings
Manually set resolution in SkyrimPrefs.ini[5]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
SkyrimPrefs.ini .
- Change
iSize H and iSize W to the display resolution's height and width respectively.
Notes
- Changing options in the launcher may undo this edit.
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Manually set borderless fullscreen windowed in SkyrimPrefs.ini[citation needed]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
SkyrimPrefs.ini .
- Change
bBorderless=1 and make sure bFull Screen=0 .
- Save and close the file.
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Disable Vsync[citation needed]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
SkyrimPrefs.ini .
- Change
iVSyncPresentInterval=1 to iVSyncPresentInterval=0 to disable Vsync.
- Save and close the file.
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SMAA Anti-Aliasing with SweetFX[citation needed]
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- Download custom SweetFX
- Extract archive contents to executable location, and replace DLL's with one's from x64 folder
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- Havok physics do not function correctly past 60 FPS by default.[6]
Remove 60 FPS cap and correct physics[7][8]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
Skyrim.ini .
- Under section
[Display] add line bLockFrameRate=0 to remove 60 FPS cap.
- Add the section
[HAVOK] and under it add line fMaxTime=(1 / your monitor's refresh rate) to correct the physics, i.e. for a 144 Hz monitor you would add fMaxTime=0.0069 .
- See Run the game at screen refresh rate to run the game at above 60 Hz refresh rate.
- See Vertical sync (Vsync) to disable Vsync if you want FPS to exceed your monitor's refresh rate.
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Input settings
Template:Input settings
Audio settings
Template:Audio settings
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Traditional Chinese |
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French |
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German |
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Italian |
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Japanese |
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Polish |
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Russian |
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Spanish |
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Mute on focus lost
Set mute in background[citation needed]
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- Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide.
- Start the game and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+← Backspace to toggle Special K's Control Panel.
- Expand "Window Management" and "Input/Output Behavior".
- Enable "Mute Game" under "Background Behavior".
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VR support
Issues fixed
AMD frame rate stuttering/screen tearing
- Default Skyrim v-sync frequently causes frame rate stuttering. Disabling in-game v-sync causes physics glitches. Enabling frame rate limiting in Crimson causes tearing
Set iVSyncPresentInterval to 0[9]
|
- See Vertical sync (Vsync) to disable Vsync.
- Download Fallout 4 ENB v0.307.
- Extract the "WrapperVersion" folder and copy
d3d11.dll , d3dcompiler_46e.dll and ENBlocal.ini into the Skyrim Special Edition installation folder.
- Open
ENBlocal.ini .
- Under LIMITER, change
EnableFPSLimit=true to EnableFPSLimit=false
- Under ENGINE, change
ForceVsync=false to ForceVsync=true .
- Save and close the file.
Notes
- Game will start with a black screen and may take a solid minute or two for the main menu screen to appear.
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G-Sync frame rate stuttering
- With Nvidia G-Sync enabled frame rate becomes unstable.
Game crashes every 10-15 minutes on Windows 10
Disable the Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service on Windows 10[5]
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- Open the Start menu.
- Type
services.msc and press ↵ Enter.
- Search for
Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service on the list of services, double-click on it.
- Make sure that the service name is
TabletInputService .
- Change
Startup type to Disabled and click the apply button to disable the service from auto-starting.
- Click the stop button.
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Run the game at screen refresh rate
- Fullscreen mode defaults to 60 Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.
Set screen refresh rate[citation needed]
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- Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide.
- Start the game once and close it to allow the configuration file of Special K to be created.
- Open
<path-to-game>\dxgi.ini or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Profiles\SkyrimSE.exe\SpecialK.ini depending on the installation method you used.
- Change
RefreshRate=-1 to RefreshRate=0 under [Render.FrameRate] .
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Allow pressing Alt+F4 to close the game
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
11 |
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Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Physics |
Havok |
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Interface |
Scaleform |
3.3.92 |
Cutscenes |
Bink Video |
1.99f |
Mods
- Before installing any mods, SKSE64 and either Vortex or Mod Organizer should be installed.
- Powerful and easy to use mod manager with mod virtualization, in order to keep the installation folder clean.
- Features a configuration editor, the SKSE executable can also be set to be launched through the configurator.
- Required by most mods.
High Quality Voices/Music
- Uses higher quality sound files from PS4 version
Continue rendering in the background
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
7 |
8.1, 10 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core i5-750 AMD Phenom II X4 945 |
Intel Core i5-2400 AMD FX-8320 |
System memory (RAM) |
8 GB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
12 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 AMD Radeon HD 7870 1-2 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 AMD Radeon R9 290 3-4 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible |
- 64-bit OS is required
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References