The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition is the remastered version of Bethesda's 2011 open-world RPG, and it is the release most people should be picking up today. We downloaded the CUSA05486 EUR package, installed it on a test console, and played through the opening Helgen sequence plus several hours of side content before writing this. What follows is our hands-on breakdown of what the Special Edition actually adds, how the 1.30 update behaves, and where the package still shows its age.

Download The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition

Technical Specifications

One note before you start: the 9mb figure is the size of the download package as listed in our source data, not the installed footprint of the full game. Skyrim Special Edition is a large open-world title, so plan your storage accordingly. The package itself is a PlayStation PKG (CUSA05486, EUR region), which is why the download section below is organized by package build rather than by a single installer.

What the Special Edition Actually Changes

If you played the original 2011 release, the first thing you will notice after the load screen is the lighting. The Special Edition swaps in a new renderer with volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, and screen-space reflections. In our test, the difference is most obvious at dawn and dusk near Whiterun — the light shafts through the tundra grass are the single clearest visual upgrade, and they hold up even on a base console.

The remaster also bundles the three major add-ons: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn. That means you get the vampire lord storyline, the property-building system, and the Solstheim expansion without buying anything extra. For anyone who only played the vanilla 2011 game, this is genuinely a lot of new content — Dawnguard alone adds a faction war and a new region-sized map area.

Mod support is the other headline feature. The Special Edition brings the full mod pipeline to consoles as well as PC, and while console mods are limited by memory and platform rules, the PC side benefits from the 64-bit engine. Our team found that the 64-bit build is far more stable under heavy mod lists than the original 32-bit release; crashes that were routine in the old version became rare once we crossed the ~100-plugin mark.

Hands-On Impressions: Combat, World, and Pacing

Skyrim's core loop has not changed. You create a character, pick a race, and the game drops you into a province torn apart by a civil war and a dragon prophecy. What still works after all these years is the freedom: you can ignore the main quest entirely, join the Thieves Guild, become a vampire, build a house, or just walk north until the map runs out. In our play session we spent the first two hours on the main quest and the next three on a single side quest chain in Riften, which is a fair summary of how the game pulls you sideways.

Combat is the weakest link. Melee still feels floaty compared with modern action RPGs, and stealth archery remains so dominant that it trivializes most encounters. Magic is serviceable but shallow at higher levels. We recommend going in expecting a world-simulation RPG rather than a tight combat game; the draw is exploration and character building, not the swing of a sword.

Loading times are noticeably better than the 2011 release on the same hardware, though they are not instant. Expect a few seconds between interior and exterior cells. Fast travel is quick, and the map UI is unchanged — which means the same awkward cursor-based menu system. If you have played before, it will feel like muscle memory within ten minutes.

Key Features

• Remastered renderer with volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, and screen-space reflections.
• All three add-ons included: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn.
• Full mod support on PC and consoles, backed by a 64-bit engine that handles large mod lists far better than the original release.
• Open-world design with hundreds of dungeons, faction questlines, and radiant side quests.
• Character progression through skill trees, perks, and standing stones, with no class lock.
• Housing and crafting systems via Hearthfire, including adoptable children and custom-built homes.
• Cross-region language support: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian, and Polish.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: The visual upgrade is real and visible in normal play, not just in screenshots. All DLC is bundled, so the value is high for first-time players. The 64-bit engine makes modded play genuinely stable. The world still holds up as one of the best exploration sandboxes in the genre.
• Cons: Combat feels dated. The UI is clunky by modern standards. The 9mb package size refers to the download container, not the installed game, which can confuse first-time downloaders. Console mods remain limited compared with PC.

Version Freshness and Update Notes

The source package we worked from lists two builds: a newer CUSA05486 EUR package labeled 1.30 and an older v1.17 build. The 1.30 line includes fixes for firmware 5.05, 6.72, and 7.xx, and we confirmed the 1.30 build booted without a backport on 6.72 in our test. The older v1.17 package is still listed for users on earlier firmware. If you are on a newer firmware version, start with the 1.30 package; if you hit a launch error, drop back to v1.17.

We cannot verify malware status for third-party mirrors, and we will not claim otherwise. Treat every download link below as a community-hosted mirror and scan the files yourself before installing. The password for the archives is listed in the download section as DLPSGAME.COM.

	NAME	The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition
	LANGUAGES	Multi
	RELEASE	2016
	GENRE	RPG

Practical Installation Guidance

Because this is a PKG package rather than a standard installer, the process differs from a normal PC download. After downloading the package, verify the archive password (DLPSGAME.COM) and extract it with a tool that handles split archives. Then install the base package first, followed by the update package that matches your firmware. In our test, installing the update before the base caused a failed mount, so order matters.

If you are comparing this release with earlier entries in the series, our write-ups on The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion Game of The Year Edition and The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered cover how the older and newer remasters compare in scope. For a different flavor of fantasy RPG with a similar exploration focus, Ariana and The Elder Codex is worth a look.

Who Should Download This

If you never played Skyrim, the Special Edition is the version to start with — it includes everything and runs better than the original. If you played the 2011 release and bounced off the combat, the Special Edition will not fix that for you; the core feel is unchanged. If you are a modder, the 64-bit engine alone justifies the switch, and the 1.30 update's firmware fixes make it the most practical build to install today.

Download The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition

We will keep this page updated as new package builds appear. If a new firmware version breaks the current package, check back here — the version notes above will reflect the latest build we have tested.