Skyrim:PlayStation

The purpose of this page is to document some aspects of Skyrim that are specific to the PlayStation version of the game. The vast majority of gameplay is identical on all platforms (PC, Xbox, or PlayStation): the quests are the same, the glitches are the same with exception to lag issues being less prevalent on PC. One difference during gameplay is that reaching certain milestones will unlock Trophies; these are listed at Achievements.

The PS3 version of the game has some issues with lag (loading), although most of this was rectified with version 1.4 of the Official Skyrim Patch. It was widely reported on Bethsoft's Official Forums and across a large number of reputable gaming websites (IGN, Gamespot, CVG, etc.) that the lag problem was bad enough to "stop or badly affect gameplay" with a large number of players save games becoming frozen upon loading, as well as a whole host of other bugs including poor rendering, the inability to trade, and prevention from completing quests and issues both pre-existing and caused by the patches made to the game. Bethesda stated that patch 1.2 would focus on these performance problems, but the patch didn't help at all. Afterwards, Bethesda stated that patch 1.4 would get rid of the PS3 lag.

Patch version 1.5 introduced a major game-crashing glitch connected with the improved water shaders. After installation of the patch, any attempt to go underwater would result in the game crashing. The solution to this is to delete all Skyrim data (Update and Game) in the Game Data Utility. This does not affect or include your save game data. Once this is done, reinstall the game data and the patch will update. The glitch is only present if, when updating, you have not yet downloaded patch 1.5.

A method of reducing the frequency of freezing and lag is to disable autosaving, which entails turning off Save on Rest, Save on Wait, Save on Travel, and disabling Save on Character Menu. However, this method will obviously necessitate the frequent use of manual saves.

A remastered Skyrim Special Edition was released on PS4 on October 28, 2016. This version is also available for the PS5.

Missing PC Features

Some of the PC features that are not available on the PlayStation are:

• The console. This means that PC bug fixes on articles are not available to players. It also means that most cheats and exploits are not available.
• The Creation Kit. The Creation Kit does not directly affect gameplay; rather it allows the game files to be viewed and edited. A lot of the information on the Wiki is derived from the Creation Kit, because it allows the factors controlling gameplay to be easily identified. However CSList, a tool to display game data, is provided by the site and available for viewing by technically inclined users.
• The availability of third party mods is limited; see this section for more details.

Interface Differences

Although the keyboard and PlayStation controller clearly provide very different methods of interacting with the game, most of the controls work the same way. Some differences, however, include:

• On the PlayStation there is no way to toggle Automove.
  • Walking vs running is controlled by how far forward you push the left thumbstick. Slight motions of the thumbstick will cause your character to walk; pushing the thumbstick as far as it will go will cause your character to go faster and by holding down L2 will make your character sprint. This is most obvious if you use third-person view.
• The Quick Save and Quick Load shortcuts are not available on the PS3; save and load are only accessible through the Menu options.
• The Special Edition includes a Quicksave option, and sprinting is toggled rather than dependent on holding the button. The default controls are different to the PS3 controls.

Downloadable Content

All DLC is included with the Special Edition for PS4 and PS5.

• Dawnguard was released on the PS3 on February 26, 2013 in the United States, and February 27, 2013 in English-speaking territories.
• Hearthfire was released on the PS3 on February 19, 2013 in the United States, and February 20, 2013 in English-speaking territories.
• Dragonborn was released on the PS3 on February 12, 2013 in the United States, and February 13, 2013 in English-speaking territories.

Creation Club content is available for the Special Edition on PS4 and PS5. All Creation Club content is bundled with the Anniversary Edition.

Third Party Mods

Unlike on Xbox One, Special Edition only has limited mod support on PlayStation. Only assets already included within the game may be used. Any mod that adds textures, meshes, animations, sounds, and/or scripts will not be PlayStation-compatible. Note that trophies are disabled when playing with mods. These restrictions extend to Verified Creations, resulting in only a limited subset of these Creations being available on PlayStation.

The original console release of Skyrim does not support mods on either PS3 or Xbox 360. Mod development is only possible on PC.

Patches

For more information, see the page for PlayStation Patches.