 Skyrim is powered by Bethesda 's Creation Engine , created specifically for Skyrim . After Fallout 3 's release , the team devised numerous design objectives to meet for Skyrim , and as Howard described , the team " got all those done and kept going " . Had the team not been able to meet their design goals with current hardware , they would have waited for the next generation and released Skyrim then , but , as Howard felt , the current technology did not hold the team back at all . The Creation Engine allows for numerous improvements in graphical fidelity over Bethesda 's previous efforts . For example , the draw distance renders farther than in previous The Elder Scrolls games ; Howard provided an example where the player can stare at a small object such as a fork in detail , and then look up at a mountain and run to the top of it . Dynamic lighting allows shadows to be created by any structure or item in the game world , and the Creation Engine allowed for greater detail in flora production than SpeedTree had in previous Bethesda games . For example , with Bethesda 's own technology , the team were able to give weight to the branches of trees which affect how trees blow in the wind ; in addition , the technology allows wind to affect the flow of water in channels such as rivers and streams . Because of the large presence of snow in Skyrim 's game world , the technological upgrades were applied to weather effects and allow for dynamic snow fall upon the terrain , instead of snow that was rendered as a textural effect in previous games . 
