Skyrim's Massive 700-Player Mod Is Breathtaking And Ridiculous

Published Jul 30, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work. Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work. The fact that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a 15-year-old game, continues to be supported both officially and unofficially through fan-made mods and expansions not only legitimately astounds me, but fills me with a delightfully fuzzy sensation. There's a beauty to just how much the world loves Skyrim and how, after all these years, fans can find a new way to engage with it, despite its foundations feeling a little rocky by today's standards. Of course, Skyrim's many new updates and crossovers have been keeping everyone entertained for some time now, but none have been quite as ambitious nor as absolutely perfect as what may be the game's biggest mod outside of total conversions. This mod completely transforms the game into a unique kind of experience, one that feels apt for the modern gaming climate, and one that genuinely breathes new life into this near two-decade-old game. Skyrim Doesn't Have To Be Lonely When I was a young lad playing Skyrim for the very first time, I dreamt about exploring its vast world with a friend or two, listening to the incredible soundtrack as we roleplayed living in one of its idyllic villages, going on grand adventures, and drinking (obviously 0% mead as we were underage at the time) together in the tavern. Alas, this was never a possibility, and Skyrim remained a largely lonely experience. In the years since, I've appreciated the sense of serene isolation Skyrim offers, but that desire to exist within it with others has never left my mind. Of course, long after Bethesda hit publish (I assume there's a giant red button that gets whacked every time a new release drops), we got the exceptional Skyrim co-op mod, Skyrim Together, which allows a small group of people to do exactly as I had wanted all those years prior. Yet, ironically, when it came to playing it, as exceptional of an experience as it ended up being, the mod failed to scratch the itch. Simply put, it wasn't big enough, and there was a glaring issue getting in the way of roleplaying: NPCs. Fortunately, Skyrim's latest massive expansion, a new mod by the name of Keizaal Online, has all but rectified that issue and fulfilled a near life-long dream of mine. It turns Skyrim into a roleplaying server by removing all NPCs and putting players in control of the in-game economy, questlines, and emergent stories. With the capacity for up to 750 players at any given time, Keizaal Online fills Skyrim in a way no developer-placed NPC ever could. It makes exploring Skyrim feel truly special and alive in a way it simply never has and never was capable of being before. Fus-Ro-Dah It Together Keizaal Online is a lot more than a mere RP server crammed into The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's old framework. It isn't designed to simply recreate the Skyrim experience with 700 people milling around the place, as there would be little value in that. No one player is at the heart of the story, no one character is the hero. Instead, everyone is important can get involved in community-hosted events and emergent storylines happening at all times. Or, they can go and tend to their farm out in the sticks and wave at passing players heading out on an adventure. Whatever you want to do within Skyrim, Keizaal Online caters to it. Of course, this is an RP server, so there's plenty of goofing around and shenanigans happening, much like there is in similar roleplaying servers in games like GTA Online. However, there's a reverence for Skyrim, perhaps imparted by the game's dark and moody atmosphere, that does somewhat keep the absurdity at bay. Players can always test it out for themselves, as the mod is completely free, and see whether they are able to get immersed alongside the other 700+ players. You'll need a copy of Skyrim: Special Edition or Anniversary Edition as well as the mod's custom launcher, which can be downloaded from the official Keizaal Online website. I sincerely hope that this mod takes off, if only to showcase to Bethesda what a future Elder Scrolls Online-esque title could look like. Whether you've run out of ways of making Skyrim fun or just want a fresh new fantasy RPG to play with friends, Keizaal Online is absolutely worth giving a try. Systems Released November 11, 2011 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol Developer(s) Bethesda Game Studios Publisher(s) Bethesda Softworks Engine Creation Engine Franchise The Elder Scrolls Platform(s) PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S Genre(s) RPG, Action, Adventure