Bethesda Softworks recently confirmed that there will be an official expansion for Oblivion, the 2006 game of the year, released in March 2006 and already topping three million unit sales. It has been confirmed that the expansion, titled The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, will be released for the Xbox 360 and Windows this Spring.

“We’re thrilled with the response that Oblivion has received to date and feel that Shivering Isles will offer a whole new and different experience to anyone who played and enjoyed Oblivion,” said Todd Howard, executive producer for The Elder Scrolls.

Explore new realms and discover new truths

Players can expect more than 30 hours of new game play in Shivering Isles. The expansion will also allow players to explore a new plane of Oblivion, the realm of Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness. The expansion will add to the existing world of Oblivion, giving players the opportunity to continue playing with their saved game or character or to create an entirely new character to explore the new content with.

Once players are inside the realm of Sheogorath they can explore the two extreme sides of this god’s madness, his creative one or his psychotic one. But something is amiss in the Shivering Isles and players must become Sheogorath’s champion to help defend his realm and protect its people. The question posed to the player is this: “Do you have the strength to survive his trials, tame a realm fraught with paranoia and despair, and wear the mantle of a God?”

Players can expect to encounter a landscape within the Shivering Isles torn between mania and dementia, as well as new creatures including insects, Flesh Atronachs, skeletal Shambles and amphibious Grummites. But fear not, for if you should decide to accept this challenge and press on, you will discover new items, ingredients and spells to assist you, along with Crucible and Bliss, talented craftsmen who will forge weapons and armour for you.

Unlike anything you have seen or played in Oblivion before

“The enthusiastic response we’ve received to our downloadable content has been overwhelming, and we’re excited to bring Oblivion fans a full expansion,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “The world we’ve created for Shivering Isles is unlike anything you’ve seen or played in Oblivion and we can’t wait for folks to play it.”

The Windows version of Shivering Isles is co-published by Bethesda Softworks and 2K games and will be available at retail. The Xbox 360 version is planned for release through Xbox Live by Bethesda Softworks. Fans eager to get more details about the expansion should look out for the February issue of Official Xbox Magazine (US), which will present an exclusive cover story.