Forgotten Seasons has launched for Skyrim Special Edition, a paid content update that brings a massive Dwemer ruin to explore with four unique areas based on the seasons. You’d be forgiven for thinking this Creation Club add-on is an official bit of new DLC for the game – and Bethesda is certainly promoting it that way.
Vardnknd serves as the dungeon at the center of Forgotten Seasons. Inside, you’ll find the spriggan-populated Spring’s Symphony, the frozen Winter’s Chimes, the lava-laced Summer’s Chords, and the underground farmland of Autumn’s Bells. Each has its own look and gameplay challenges, so it’s not all the same Dwarven ruins you’re used to.
Your rewards at the end of it all include a horse mount automaton and an arcane crown that can be customised with new effects from different masks. The official description offers some vague hints about other items, too – including “tiny metal bugs” and artifacts “tied to the weather itself.” But it seems you’ll have to play through the update yourself to find out the details.
Forgotten Seasons is the most substantial Creation Club add-on yet, and at $12 USD – double the cost of any previous CC item – it’s priced to match. It’s a collaborative effort among modders, with primary design from Trainwiz. Additional items, design, and art come courtesy of PrivateEye, Elianora and Rob ‘fadingsignal’ Vogel, and Kris Takahashi. Bethesda put in some of the work, too. On Reddit, Trainwiz notes specifically that that the Dwemer horse came from them, along with other unspecified bits.
As always, a new Creation Club add-on brings an obligatory mention of the controversy around the system – it’s lovely to see modders get paid for their work, but many of the best Skyrim mods are free and very substantial. Bethesda’s putting much more promotional muscle into Forgotten Seasons, but whether that translates into more life for Creation Club remains to be seen.