With that said, if Skyrim Anniversary Edition includes some modern upgrades to Skyrim's engine like Skyrim Special Edition did, I can see moving to it being beneficial in the long run since those upgrades will probably make modded playthroughs smoother, and most mods will most likely get ported to the new edition eventually. Sure, they'll lose out on next-gen enhancements, but you can make Skyrim look like it released in 2021 already with the best Skyrim Special Edition PC mods or best Skyrim Special Edition Xbox One mods. If this happens and mod creators struggle to get their projects working with the Anniversary Edition, modding veterans and new players alike should probably stick with the Special Edition so that they have the option to use mods if they want to (or continue doing so).

There's a good chance that the Anniversary Edition of the game will break a ton of the popular mods that thousands upon thousands of players consider to be a core component of their playthroughs, and it's unclear whether it will be easy or difficult for mod authors to make their mods compatible with the new version of the game. Where things get murkier is if you're an Xbox or PC player who's looking to experience Skyrim for the first time or if you're someone who likes to mod the hell out of Skyrim (like me).

There are many factors to consider, including what platform you use and whether you like using mods. The only downside I can think of would be that your character saves might not transfer (this is what's stopping my girlfriend from getting the Special Edition on Xbox), but Bethesda hasn't clarified whether saves will carry over yet. There's ultimately no reason not to take advantage of these free upgrades in this scenario, especially if the next-gen enhancements Bethesda has planned for the new edition are substantial. For PlayStation players who don't have the option to use mods and fans on both Xbox and PC who prefer the vanilla Skyrim experience, I think upgrading Skyrim Special Edition to the Anniversary Edition that features next-gen enhancements and the new fishing mechanic will be a no-brainer.

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