It’s been hard to avoid the massive buzz surrounding Skyrim, the latest installment in the incredibly popular Elder Scrolls series. From its huge environments to its varied gameplay, the game is never far from critical praise, nor has it been a commercial letdown. With massive media coverage and a huge amount of hype from fans, Skyrim was ready to set records from the day it was announced.

But even Bethesda is surprised, happily so, in fact, at its position in the UK sales charts right now. Skyrim is the first game to beat out competition from Activision and EA for the top spot on holiday game sales charts – a position that’s previously been dominated by large action games. For fans of open-ended RPG gaming, it’s a victory both for Bethesda and for the genre itself.

There’s been renewed interest in RPG gaming recently, and the success of Skyrim is certainly a great indicator for other developers wanting to enter the genre. We can only hope for more huge RPGs in the next few years, but from what we’ve seen the chances of another major adventure are looking pretty good indeed.