Skyrim Has a Minecraft Easter Egg, Despite Legal Dispute

By Kevin Parrish
published

Despite the legal battle over the use of "Scrolls," the Skyrim developers pay homage to Mojang's Minecraft with an Easter egg.

Now here's an interesting discovery: a Minecraft easter egg in Bethesda's just-launched The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. According to reports, the item is called the "Notched Pickaxe" and resembles the tool of choice in Markus "Notch" Personn's indie sandbox, Minecraft. The tool can be found in Skyrim's "Throat of the World."

The discovery is interesting in that Bethesda and Mojang (along with Notch) are in a legal battle over the use of "Scrolls." As previously reported, Mojang received a letter from Bethesda's attorneys saying that the Minecraft developer's use of "Scrolls" infringed upon its The Elder Scrolls trademark. Bethesda said that the use of "Scrolls" outside its own Elder Scrolls franchise would cause confusion, and that the company would sue Mojang if the upcoming game's name wasn't changed.

Eventually Mojang won an interim injunction that allows the developer to continue to use the "Scrolls" name, but that doesn't mean the legal battle is over. Yet now a Minecraft-themed object has appeared in a Bethesda game... an Elder Scrolls one at that. And while the easter egg initially seems like a slap in the face, there are reports that the Skyrim team is actually a big fan of Minecraft, and frequently played the game during breaks. The tool simply pays homage to one of their favorite titles.

In other Skyrim news, VGChartz reports that physical sales of the fifth Elder Scrolls installment exceeded 3.4 million units in just two days -- that doesn't even include digital copies. 59-percent of the units were sold for the Xbox 360 and 27-percent on the PlayStation 3. 14-percent of the physical sales were snapped up by PC gamers. In comparison, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion only saw 490,000 units sold on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the same 2-day timeframe.

For those who love hunting down Easter eggs in games, there's another one to find in the just-released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It's a teddy bear holding two golden Desert Eagle semi-automatic pistols. The guy in the video seems rather excited over the finding... is it worth the hunt?

Kevin Parrish
29 Comments Comment from the forums
  • AbdullahG
    Developer love...
    Reply
  • Condar_JCL
    Actually this might not the case. Oblivion also had Notched items, which one was a Pickaxe. Looks like to be just another item in the game with no significance at all.
    Reply
  • mortsmi7
    I'd think a Notch Pickaxe would be more of an Easter egg. A notched pickaxe in any other game would simply be a crappy pickaxe.
    Reply
  • @Condar_JLC

    I think it's more definable as an "easter egg" over a crappy pickaxe because it's value is 303 gold. I don't recall normal pickaxes having a value remotely close to that. Is there any significance to the specific number 303 though?
    Reply
  • frostweaver
    im glad im the 14% :)
    Reply
  • upgrade_1977
    Two words.... Counter Sue..
    Reply
  • sinfulpotato
    I am sure the Devs and the Lawyers don't run on the same terms. The dev's may love Mojang.. the highers ups who pay the bills, do not. Plus the lawyers looking for ways to make money.
    Reply
  • Supertrek32
    Classic case of company execs not at all representing the developers. Looks like the people who actually make the game don't have a problem with minecraft, just the people in charge of money.
    Reply
  • opmopadop
    Genisaurus Is there any significance to the specific number 303 though?
    Perhaps its an 'In' joke, Notch being sued for the amount of 303 million perhaps?
    Reply
  • genghiskhanid
    59-percent of the units were sold for the Xbox 360 and 27-percent on the PlayStation 3. 14-percent of the physical sales were snapped up by PC gamers.

    I find it sad to say, but this is the reason why PC gamers only get console ports now!
    Reply