 The game was developed using the Creation Engine , rebuilt specifically for the game . The team opted for a unique and more diverse game world than Oblivion 's Cyrodiil , which game director and executive producer Todd Howard considered less interesting by comparison . Skyrim was released to critical acclaim , with reviewers particularly mentioning the character development and setting , and is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time . The game shipped over seven million copies to retailers within the first week of its release , and sold over 20 million copies across all three platforms . 
