At the risk of being a Cyrodiil Cynic and/or Daedra Downer, I think it could be a mixture of genuine benevolence and Bethesda calculating that Skyblivion poses no real commercial threat to the Oblivion remaster at this juncture, and that being nice to the modders is great publicity
That’s 100% what it is but I won’t let that make me less happy about it. I’ll probably end up playing Skyblivion first anyway just because I’m super broke
Also, Skyblivion is a mod for Skyrim, so as long as it’s a legit copy, Bethesda still made money off you at some point anyway. That probably helps a bit, too.
Bethesda is dependent on modders. They not only fix Beth’s games, they also ensure a certain amount of longevity and relevance.
It’s free labor that only benefits the company. And Beth really wants more big modders to join their Creation Club which means monetizing the free labor.
I can’t assign ‘benevolence’ to the machinations of a company their size when ‘smart business’ fits the bill equally well.
