Market and Release

Oblivion's public debut occurred on May 18, 2005, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. The version shown at E3 was substantially finished; most of the content was already in the game, lacking only the polish that the final months of development would bring. Most viewers were impressed by Oblivion's showing, and the game won a number of "best of" awards from a variety of game journalists, among them GameSpy's "RPG Game of Show", GameSpot's "Best Role-Playing Game",IGN's "Best PC RPG", RPGFan's "Overall Game of E3 2005", and the prestigious "Best Role Playing Game" in the 2005 E3 Game Critics Awards. A near-final build of Oblivion was shown at Microsoft's Consumer Electronics Show press tent in January 2006, showcasing the game's exteriors. In the months prior to release, anticipation for the game ran high, with critics describing Oblivion as "the first next-gen game" only heightening attention. Pete Hines, vice president of public relations and marketing for Bethesda, said: "People were expecting the game to cure blindness and heal the sick."

2K Games had aimed for a late 2005 publication so that the game could be an Xbox 360 launch title. The official release date for the PC and Xbox 360 versions was originally November 22, 2005, but developmental delays pushed it back to March 20, 2006. A mobile phone version of the game, developed by Superscape and published by Vir2L Studios, was released on May 2, 2006. The PlayStation 3 version of the game (ported by 4J Studios) was released on March 20, 2007, in North America and on April 27, 2007, in Europe. This version includes graphical improvements that had been made since the PC and Xbox 360 release, and was subsequently praised for its enhanced visual appeal. A PlayStation Portable version of the game was also in development before being canceled.

At the 2007 E3, the Game of the Year edition for Oblivion was announced. In North America and Europe, the game was released in September 2007, for the Xbox 360 and PC, and in October 2007, for the PS3;in Australia, it was released in September 2007, for the Xbox 360 and PC, and in December 2007, for the PS3. It was also released on Steam on June 16, 2009. A 5th-anniversary edition of Oblivion was announced and released in North America in July 2011 and in Europe two months later. An Xbox 360 version of Fallout 3 and Oblivion double pack was announced for release in North America on April 3; however, it was not mentioned whether the bundled games include any of the downloadable content released for either game.