Skyrim Performance Could be Doubled With Minor Optimizations

Skyrim runs well on most medium to high-end computers, but there’s little doubt that we all wish we could get more out of the game—if only it were better optimized.

The author of the TESV Acceleration Layer Tool, which purports to increase the game’s performance quite a bit claims that with some further optimization, it may be possible for him—or Bethesda, really—to double Skyrim’s performance. According to Arisu, the game’s messy code is the reason why it doesn’t run as well as Crysis 2 or some other game with highly optimized code.

“Skyrim would probably experience an execution speed gain of over 100% just by using an optimizing compiler, as it has drastic consequences to the amount of code that would be detected as being redundant and thus completely eliminated,” said Arisu on the official Elder Scrolls forum.

“The TESV code has pretty high register pressure and a huge part of this is simply due to the completely missing optimizations, which would otherwise eliminate the unneeded allocations,” he said.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Bethesda “messed up the game” or engage in hyperbole, but it stands to reason that Skyrim has much room for improvement. It’s only a matter of time before Bethesda or a modder like Arisu delivers.