Revealed at QuakeCon 2021, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will include "500+ individual elements" from Bethesda's Creation Club. With less than 50 Skyrim Creation Club mods available at the moment, though, this impressive number bears some clarification.
Skyrim Anniversary Edition brings the total number of Skyrim releases to 15 across 10 different gaming systems. Skyrim Special Edition, which came out in 2016, was one of the more notable, improving upon the game's visuals by introducing things like improved effects, volumetric god rays, and dynamic depth of field. It included the ability to purchase and download Creation Club creations - additional content created by Bethesda and outside developers - but the Anniversary Edition comes with these as free add-ons.
Skyrim Anniversary Edition will presumably carry over Special Edition's visual improvements and likewise come with all three of the official DLCs: Dragonborn, Dawnguard, and Hearthfire. Bethesda's Creation Club, then, will likely be built into the menu, just like other editions, but all of its content will be available from the start.
Where Skyrim Anniversary Edition's 500 Creation Club Elements Come From
Anniversary Edition's "500+ Creation Club elements" claim doesn't actually mean there will be 500 individual mods for the game. The official announcement posted on The Elder Scrolls website actually specifies that only 74 creations will be included. 48 of these are already available to download, while the other 26 have yet to be released (likely including fishing, previewed during the Skyrim Anniversary Edition reveal). The 500 number comes from individual elements within these creations, including new quests, items, armor, houses, and more.
One of the confirmed inclusions is the popular Saints & Seducers creation, which could be responsible for a large number of Bethesda's elements approximation. Saints & Seducers adds eight new quests to Skyrim, along with around 25 items, multiple new books and notes to read, and several NPCs and creatures. Skyrim's Survival Mode will also be included, which implements climate factors, hunger, fatigue, and new racial passive abilities. It's unknown for the time being which other new creations will be added to Skyrim Anniversary Edition and how they will impact gameplay, but it's a safe bet that each one includes a wide range of elements to help bring that total up to over 500. As the game's November release date approaches, more will likely be revealed.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition launches on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on November 11, 2021.
Source: Elder Scrolls