It does so it's a good bet ESV will use Steamworks as well. It's not the worst DRM they could have used TBH and there are ways around it. The only real annoyance is being tied to Steam for future updates.

Ah, ok. Then yeah, Skyrim will probably require using Steam as an updater. As long as it doesn't mess with mods (which is my biggest concern from mandatory patches) it should be ok. Though I guess the issue of mods is still up in the air since we know nothing at all about the new engine. I am hoping it will be similar enough to the old one in controls that modders will be able to pick it up quickly. Though, even if it isn't that user friendly people will eventually figure it out and make some awesome stuff, they always do.

If I recall correctly the way the previous games were handled was that the launcher had the DRM or Steam tie-in or whatever, with the actual game executable not hampered by this. The launcher settings are stored in a known file format; mod managers and such interact with this so you don't really need to touch it at all after the initial setup stage.

As for the engine, I very much doubt it is going to be something new. Pete Hines previously mentioned that they were building off the Fallout 3 technology. Developers are very fond of claiming an enhanced version of an existing engine is a "new" engine.

Even if it is a genuinely new engine I don't think they would dare release it without at least the promise of mod support in the near future. For many gamers the mods are half the point of buying these games in the first place, and without a guarantee of mod support they would be considering buying the game at a later date when it's cheaper or whatever, which Bethesda of course doesn't want.

EDIT: as for mandatory patches, note that you can lock Steam games down to the currently installed version from the game's properties dialog. The downside is that you can't actually request an older version from Steam, so if you don't lock it or back it up prior to the update you might get stuck with a version that doesn't work correctly.

Good to know, Arkose, thanks.

probly already posted but I cant be botheres reading 6 pages at the moment anyway...

New Engine looks likely

http://www.tesnexus.com/news/index.php?id=801

I will bet my next unemployment check that Bethesda won't ship Skyrim with out modding support. Say what you like about Bethesda (and I've got a few choice words), but they aren't stupid. They know that the modding community is what built and sustained them, it's the reason that after a decade, Morrowind still sells pretty briskly. They've figured out that modding and an accessible scripting language helps them sell more units, not less.

They are not about to shoot their cash cow in the foot. ;)

I've found no ways of launching the game without steam running, if you have some incite could you share?

I haven't looked into it in a great deal but it involves moving the NV directory and a dodgy .exe i'm sure there are less reputable sites that can go into more detail but that's the gist of it.

Basically you crack the game. If you are uncomfortable with that then there is no way to run it without Steam.

I thought I implied that with the whole dodgy .exe thing. Damn my subtle ways :p

I like to be blunt!

Here is more bluntness: once all the patched and DLC are out (and purchased by the way) some scener group will release an all-inclusive DRM free version of the game you can download and backup to a dual-layer DVD.