Elder Scrolls Oblivion: Shivering Isle

News has been slowly dribbling out onto the web recently that Elder Scrolls Oblivion is going to be receiving a full blown expansion pack. This comes shortly after Bethesda released the omnibus version of their additional content, Knights of the Nine. The game, which is said to have some very interesting new features, will be named ‘Oblivion – Shivering Isle’.

The news, which is being marked as an exclusive in this month’s PC Zone magazine, is being reported over on the Elder Scrolls File Front page. Remember that all these early reports are still very un-confirmed and everything is subject to change.

With that disclaimer out of the way, what can we expect from Shivering Isle? Well to start with the add-on will provide around 30 hours of new gameplay. This will take place on a completely new continent; pleasingly they decided not to re-draw the map of Tamriel which would have been a bit of a cheap trick. Players will get to the Shivering Isle through a portal, and, once there, madness awaits.

The guys at Bethesda are hoping to give the expansion a bit more of a humorous feel, comparing the comedy in style to the early Lucasarts games. ‘The realm of Madness’, as the Shivering Isle is known, sounds like it will be quite removed from what we have come to expect from Elder Scrolls Oblivion. In terms of gameplay mechanics however, the game will still function in a very similar way.

The plan is to allow users to move between the two continents at will, which means that the expansion will not be exclusive to anyone who has actually completed Oblivion. With Oblivion being such a smash hit on both the 360 and the PC, expect this to be a big release in 2007. When official confirmation arrives from Bethesda and we get some screenshots you’ll see them at bit-tech.

Excited about Shivering Isle – or are you still working your way through the original? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.