Bethesda Softworks has today announced that the studio’s just-released open-world fantasy-based action RPG, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, has enjoyed “an enthusiastic reception by gamers across the globe” and successfully shipped seven million units worldwide, with “[more] than 50% of launch units” sold in the first two days of availability.

Can we safely assume, then, that over 3.5 million units of Skyrim were sold in 48 hours?

Bethesda expects this initial allotment of Skyrim retail copies to generate over $450 million in global sales, and the company is reporting that large re-orders for the game are already coming in from major retailers in North America, Europe and Australia.

Online activity was also notable, and in the first 24 hours of release there were 280 000 concurrent Skyrim players on Steam, “far outdistancing all other titles.”

“Without a doubt, this has been our most ambitious project ever,” said Todd Howard, Game Director on Skyrim. “After over three years of development, we’re finally excited to get it into everyone’s hands.”

Have you got your hands on Skyrim yet? Look forward to El33tonline’s review of the game in the near future, but in the meantime you can jump into our previous coverage of the enormous fantasy RPG for screenshots, trailers and additional information.