Oblivion expands early on XBL

Bad news for Xbox 360 role-playing game fans looking to get some last-minute chores done tonight before they delve into the first expansion for the time-consuming The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion--the add-on has launched a day early.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles is now on Xbox Live Marketplace and available for download for 2,400 Microsoft points ($30). The content-heavy expansion, which Bethesda says takes 30 hours to complete and was scheduled for release tomorrow, will occupy a fair amount of the console's hard drive, as it takes up 993.75MB of space.

Those looking to start exploring the new realm of Sheogorath had better get to downloading The Shivering Isles soon--Microsoft has scheduled downtime for Xbox Live for Tuesday beginning at 12:01 a.m. PDT. The maintenance is expected to take approximately 14 hours.

The PC version is being distributed in retail and should be on store shelves tomorrow. For more on Shivering Isles, read GameSpot's previous coverage or check back soon for a full review.