Bethesda announces Hearthfire DLC for Skyrim

Last year’s best selling single player game, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, just got the Dawnguard DLC (downloadable content) for the PC version recently. And now Bethesda is all set to release a new DLC for the Xbox 360 version of the game, titled Hearthfire. The announcement was made on Bethesda’s blog yesterday. Hearthfire is set for a release on Xbox LIVE on the 4th of September and will cost 400 Microsoft Points (roughly Rs. 280). Bethesda has released a small trailer for the upcoming DLC.

According to the blog, in Hearthfire, you can purchase land and build your own home from the ground up – from a simple one-room cottage to a sprawling compound complete with armoury, alchemy laboratory, stable, garden and more. The DLC introduces new tools like a drafting table and a carpenter’s workbench to transform stone, clay and logs into structures and furnishings. The new DLC will also allow you to adopt children.

Skyrim put players in control of the Dovhakiin, which is dragon tongue for Dragonborn, in the icy viking-inspired region of Skyrim. The series is very well known for its open world that lets players roam around and do whatever they want, from exploring treacherous caverns to finding treasure, or picking flowers and making potions.

In June, Bethesda had released the first DLC for the game, named Dawnguard, which revolves around an ancient prophecy. The prophecy tells of the eternal obfuscation of the sun because of a magic ritual. Players are caught in the middle of a war between a cult of vampires and the Dawnguard, who are a group of vampire hunters. The DLC was released only for the Xbox 360 due to a 30-day exclusivity contract between Microsoft and Bethesda.

Skryim giving the capability to build a home away from home

There were recent concerns that the Dawnguard DLC wouldn’t make it to the PlayStation 3 and the PC versions of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. VP of marketing at Bethesda Pete Hines had said that Bethesda “have not announced Dawnguard for any other platform.” This had gamers worried, as a lot of people had bought the PC version of Skyrim due to it being highly modifiable thanks to the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Creation Kit. Though the PC version of the game has received the DLC, the PlayStation 3 players are yet to get any news on when Dawnguard will be available for them.

Skyrim has been a massive success for Bethesda, proving that big budget games without multiplayer can be successful. The Creation Kit for the game was released earlier this year in February. Within weeks, the Creation Kit had clocked in over two million downloads. This is a testament to the dedication of PC gamers and the popularity of Skyrim, the only other game on Steam that went toe-to-toe with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 last November. Bethesda had also announced that an average PC player of Skyrim has clocked nearly 75 hours in the game.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available on Steam for $59.99 (Roughly Rs. 3,300).