Skyrim is sold today in two main editions: the Special Edition and the Anniversary Edition. The Anniversary Edition is the Special Edition plus all Creation Club content released up to 11 November 2021. If you already own the Special Edition, you don’t need to buy the whole game again; the Anniversary Upgrade is enough. Here’s what each edition includes, what it costs on Steam, PlayStation and Xbox as of 19 October 2026, and where Skyrim VR fits in.
Special Edition: the remaster with all DLC
The Special Edition launched on 28 October 2016 for PC, Xbox One and PS4. It’s a remaster of the original Skyrim from 11 November 2011, developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It includes the base game and all three expansions: Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn.
Compared with the original, it’s 64-bit, runs on DirectX 11 and has improved visuals, including volumetric light rays, depth of field and reflections. Skyrim reached Switch and PlayStation VR on 17 November 2017. What the three expansions add and which order to play them in is covered in our DLC order guide.
Anniversary Edition: the Special Edition plus Creations
The Anniversary Edition launched on 11 November 2021, the game’s tenth anniversary. It contains the full Special Edition (base game and three expansions) plus the Creation Club content released up to 11 November 2021: quests, dungeons, bosses, weapons, spells and more.
The Anniversary Edition added 26 new Creations, including Ghosts of the Tribunal and The Cause. Four Creations went to Special Edition owners for free, no upgrade needed: Saints & Seducers, Rare Curios, Survival Mode and Fishing.
The Creation Club programme itself ended on 5 December 2023. New paid content now comes from verified authors in the Verified Creators programme, and both mods and paid content are called Creations in the game.
Anniversary Upgrade: if you already own the Special Edition
The Anniversary Upgrade contains only the Creation Club content released up to 11 November 2021. It can’t be played on its own and requires Skyrim Special Edition. It’s the route for players who already own the Special Edition and want everything the Anniversary Edition has.
The physical Anniversary Edition is actually a mix of both: the box contains a Special Edition disc and a download code for the Anniversary Upgrade.
Prices as of 19 October 2026
| Edition | Steam (EUR) |
|---|---|
| Special Edition | €39.99 |
| Anniversary Edition | €49.99 |
| Anniversary Upgrade | €19.99 |
| Skyrim VR | €59.99 |
These are the regular Steam prices with no discount. The maths is simple: if you don’t own Skyrim yet, the Anniversary Edition costs €49.99, while the Special Edition and the Upgrade bought separately would come to €59.98. If you already own the Special Edition, you only need the Upgrade for €19.99. Always check current prices on Steam.
For reference, the Czech PlayStation Store lists the Anniversary Edition (PS5 and PS4) at a regular price of CZK 1,299 and the Special Edition (PS5 and PS4) at CZK 949. The Czech Microsoft Store lists the Anniversary Edition at CZK 1,449. Prices in your own regional store may differ. Buying the Anniversary Edition on the PlayStation Store gets you the digital version for both PS4 and PS5, and the Special Edition is part of the PlayStation Plus Extra catalogue.
Where you can get the Anniversary Edition
The Anniversary Edition is available digitally on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 and Amazon Luna, and physically on Xbox One and PS4. It has been on GOG since 28 September 2022. The Switch 2 version, released on 9 December 2025, is covered in our Switch 2 guide.
Owners of the Special Edition or Anniversary Edition on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 can download a free optimisation update with better visuals and faster loading.
If you play on PC and want mods, your edition also matters for SKSE, which has to match your game version. More in our Skyrim mods guide. Both editions share the same hardware requirements, listed in system requirements.
Skyrim VR: a separate game
Skyrim VR isn’t an edition of the Special Edition; it’s a standalone product. It launched on PlayStation VR on 17 November 2017 and on PC via SteamVR on 3 April 2018, with support for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality. On Steam it’s marked “VR Only”, has full controller and motion controller support, and costs €59.99.
It includes the base game plus Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn. The Anniversary Upgrade isn’t part of it, and Steam doesn’t list it as DLC for VR. On PC, VR offers a third-person view; PlayStation VR doesn’t. Achievements in Skyrim VR don’t carry over from the original game, so you start from zero.
What about the original 2011 Skyrim?
The original Skyrim is still sold on Steam for €14.99 and is the only version with Steam Workshop. It’s a different game from the Special Edition, though, and its mods have to be converted to work there. If you’re buying now, go for the Special Edition, or straight for the Anniversary Edition.
Join our Discord and ask other players whether the Anniversary Upgrade is worth it for you: GamersTogether Discord.
FAQ
The Anniversary Edition is the Special Edition (base game plus Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn) with all Creation Club content released up to 11 November 2021 added on top, including 26 new Creations.
No. The Anniversary Upgrade is enough; it cost €19.99 on Steam on 19 October 2026. It requires the Special Edition and adds the Anniversary Edition content.
€49.99 on 19 October 2026, with no discount. The Special Edition costs €39.99.
No. Skyrim VR has the base game and the three expansions, but not the Anniversary Upgrade.
Yes. Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn are in both the Special Edition and the Anniversary Edition. The Anniversary Edition adds the Creation Club content on top.
Information verified on 19 October 2026. More guides are waiting in our Skyrim guides section.