Bethesda Fixing Reported Skyrim Remastered Audio Downgrade

Following the launch of the remastered version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on Friday, players reported that the Special Edition's audio sounded downgraded.

Reddit user LasurArkinshade explained that Bethesda "cranked the compression way up to insane levels," which made it sound worse than the 2011 original. Here's a comparison to hear for yourself:

Thankfully, it looks like Bethesda is on the case. A staffer wrote on Reddit (via Kotaku), "We're currently testing a fix and hope to have an update out next week."

While you'll have to wait a little while for the official fix, PC Gamer reports that people have already discovered a workaround to make the audio sound better.

Reddit user TI36X said, "I extracted my original Skyrim Sounds.bsa, packed it with 7zip and installed it with NMM in SSE. Seems to work fine." This person added, "There are two folders in the bsa. Sound and Music. Just pack them into a archive and install by [Nexus Mod Manager]. Someone just uploaded a bsa extractor on the SSE nexus that works for this."

As always, be careful when downloading things from the internet. Go to PC Gamer to learn more about the the audio workarounds for the Skyrim Special Edition until the official update comes out.

For more on the Skyrim Special Edition, check out GameSpot's recent coverage below:

• Should You Buy Skyrim Special Edition?
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Remastered Character Creation Guide