Skyrim turns 15 with up to 80% off, a new Creations bundle and a Todd Howard-signed giveaway

Somewhere right now, a cart is rattling down a mountain road toward Helgen, and a man named Ralof is telling a horse thief that he's finally awake. That scene first played out on 11/11/11, and players have been sitting through it ever since.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is officially 15 years old, and Bethesda is treating the occasion like the milestone it is. The company calls it Bethesda Game Studios' most played game of all time, which surprises exactly nobody who has bought it on four different platforms.

Skyrim player in a horned iron helmet walks down the stone road through Riverwood village toward a villager and dog — Riverwood: the first friendly village a lot of us ever saw in Skyrim.

The birthday runs all week. Bethesda promises giveaways, community spotlights and plenty of social content, and the Special Edition is on sale while the candles are lit. If you've somehow never set foot in Whiterun, this is about as cheap as the excuse gets.

What's in the Skyrim 15 celebration

The sale: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is up to 80% off across all platforms.
The Creations bundle: a new curated Skyrim 15 bundle, purchased in-game on PC, Xbox and PlayStation.
The sweepstakes: a chance at an original Skyrim strategy guide signed by Todd Howard and members of the Bethesda Game Studios team.
Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor and Markarth are now part of the ESO base game, free for all players.

The Creations bundle is the part that will eat your weekend. It collects fan-favorite Creations, starting with Legacy of Orsinium, which Bethesda describes as DLC-sized. There's also Kaitryn Fair-Shadows, a custom-voiced follower, and Legendary Dungeons: Dwarven Delves, which brings locations from other Elder Scrolls games into Skyrim. Bethesda says there's more in the box, too.

Warrior in spiked black Daedric armor swings a mace at a Spriggan surrounded by glowing green leaves — Combat in Skyrim Special Edition, as seen on the Steam store page.

As for the sweepstakes, the grand-prize winner takes home that signed strategy guide plus exclusive 15th Anniversary commemorative posters and a custom Displate metal print. Entry details are rolling out on the Bethesda Game Studios and The Elder Scrolls social channels, so keep an eye there.

The Elder Scrolls Online is crashing the party as well. ZeniMax Online Studios recently launched Season Two: Echoes of Skyrim, which folds the Greymoor Chapter into the base game for free. That means Solitude, Blackreach, the Antiquities system and the Dark Heart of Skyrim saga, no chapter purchase required. The Markarth DLC followed on November 9, adding the Reach zone and the conclusion to Greymoor's main story.

Snow-covered ancient Nordic ruins with stone arches and a long staircase under a bright sky in Skyrim — Snow-covered Nordic ruins, one of Skyrim's most familiar sights.

ESO players also get a free, limited-time Golden Pursuit campaign that hands out Skyrim-themed rewards for exploring the Western Skyrim zone. It runs through December 2.

Fifteen years in, Skyrim is still the game people boot up to just go for a walk. Fittingly, that's what most of these screenshots are.

Golden sunset over the tundra outside Whiterun with a winding stream and distant mountains in Skyrim — Skyrim Special Edition screenshots and key art from the Steam store.

Autumn birch forest with orange and gold leaves in Skyrim's Rift region — Skyrim Special Edition screenshots and key art from the Steam store.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is available now and up to 80% off across all platforms during the anniversary, and you can grab it on PC here. The Skyrim 15 Creations bundle is waiting in-game on PC, Xbox and PlayStation. Stay tuned to GamingTrend.com for all your upcoming reviews, previews, and gaming news!