23 years later, Morrowind on controller and Steam Deck just got a million times better: The latest version of OpenMW is out now

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I’ll keep saying it as long as I have a job (and haven’t been caught embezzling!), but OpenMW is a truly impressive modding project. Similar to how DevilutionX revitalizes the original Diablo and Daggerfall Unity does for Daggerfall, OpenMW rebuilds the engine for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. This means you can play it on almost any computer and enjoy a ton of modern features and mods.

Don’t be intimidated by technical terms like “open-source engine reimplementation”! Using OpenMW is actually very easy – you just download it and launch it (you do need to have the original Morrowind game installed first). I highly recommend checking it out – the developers have just released version 0.50, and it’s a significant update.

OpenMW team member Capo announced that this new release significantly improves the gamepad experience, begins to make combat less reliant on hardcoded values, expands the Lua scripting API, and includes a much-requested feature: quick item transfer, alongside various user interface improvements.

We’re making combat in OpenMW more flexible by allowing greater control over how it works, letting modders customize it with Lua scripting. We’re also improving the user interface and expanding the scripting capabilities. But what I’m most excited about is the improved gamepad support – it’s a huge step forward!

I actually first experienced Morrowind on the Xbox, and it was a bit rough around the edges – it even caused the console to restart during loading screens sometimes! I explored Balmora and Vivec using a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse, and I still prefer that way of playing Bethesda games. Plus, honestly, I’m getting to the point where I’d rather relax and play on my TV than sit at a desk.

Playing OpenMW on devices like my TV or Steam Deck is now much simpler thanks to recent controller improvements. I’ve installed version 0.50 on my Steam Deck, and it’s surprisingly intuitive and feels great to play.

The game’s menus and item lists are now much easier to use, and managing your character information and maps is a lot simpler. It’s really impressive, and like many mods for Morrowind, it shows how much talent and dedication fans still have for this game, even after over twenty years. If you’ve been thinking about revisiting Morrowind, now might be the perfect time.

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2025-11-07 19:47