Skyrim multiplayer mod is finally out and playable

After two-and-a-bit years, the long awaited multiplayer mod for Skyrim is out and kind of works. Well, a Skyrim multiplayer mod is out, anyway. Is Together Reborn the same projects as Together? It gets a little confusing, honestly.

Maybe some history as an explanation will help clear things up.

Skyrim Together was originally an effort by a team of modders to create a multiplayer Skyrim mod. The team started work on the mod in the 2010s and a playable beta was available by 2019. But the big reason it was notable, aside from being multiplayer Skyrim, was the amount of money the developers were earning through Patreon. At the height of Skyrim Together’s popularity the team was earning $25,000 per month from donations. This was back before the idea of paying for mods was an idea taken seriously.

Then, as tends to happen, controversy struck. The developers of Skyrim Together found themselves embroiled in accusations of code theft. Skyrim Together’s code, at the time, used liberal amounts of code taken directly from the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE).

As it turns out, the then-lead developer of Skyrim Together, Yamashi, had a history of stealing from Skyrim Script Extender, and the conflict ended with the SKSE developer banning Yamashi from using any SKSE assets in his own projects.

Then the team and project kind of imploded. Accusations between members of the team started flying, lies were lied, lies were pointed out, receipts were provided and the eventual full release of the mod seemed to be in jeopardy.

So … Skyrim: Together Reborn?

So, yeah. Skyrim: Together Reborn is officially out in beta form. It’s a Skyrim multiplayer mod created by a team of volunteers almost entirely different from the team which created Skyrim Together.

The team is not making $25,000 per month in donations. In fact, according to the project’s wiki, the team does not take any donations. Though that may change in the future. The Reborn project seems to be wholly distinct from the original project, except for the branding. And the reddit page. And the Discord server. 

Oh, and the goal of a multiplayer Skyrim.

The nice part about the Reborn project is that it’s playable right now. The mod is out, albeit in a beta form, and has the expected bugs. It crashes. There’s some graphical nitpicks. There are suggestions of weirdly specific steps to take to maybe ensure a smoother experience.

But it works. 

Regardless of the history, there’s a mod out there right now that lets you play Skyrim online with other people. Which in the end is all the people really want.