Skyrim speedrunner breaks their own world record just five days later

Skyrim
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Update: The world record for the Skyrim glitchless speedrun has just been broken again.

In a new video, speedrunner Jackson Reynolds shaved almost an entire minute off the record they set last week, finishing the main quest without using any glitches in just one hour, 11 minutes, and 21 seconds.

Reynolds had already noted that their previous attempt wasn't perfect and that one notable mistake had cost around 30 seconds. The most recent effort not only rectifies that error but also shaves an extra 15-20 seconds off elsewhere, further cementing Reynolds' hold on the title. You can check out the full hour-long run in its entirety in the video below.

Original story: A Skyrim speedrunner has beaten the game in 72 minutes without any glitches or shortcuts. 

As first picked up on by TheGamer, Jackson Reynolds uploaded a brand new Skyrim speedrun video to his YouTube channel just yesterday, showing him fully completing the main storyline in a grand total of 72 minutes. This is currently the world record for beating Skyrim without any glitches or shortcuts, and actually chops two minutes off the previous record, which also belonged to Reynolds.

In the comments under the video, Reynolds explains the inner workings of the speedrun. For example, he's playing as a High Elf because speed is proportional to a character's height, and High Elves are the tallest characters in Skyrim. Additionally, Reynolds reveals that he drinks gallons of wine to boost his Stamina, but using the 'Wait' feature instead of stopping and letting the meter regenerate is actually quicker.

It turns out this speedrun could've been even quicker. Reynolds notes that he made some silly mistakes in the comments section, notably forgetting to grab the Solitude fast travel point, which lost him roughly 30 seconds in the overall run. The YouTuber is also working to beat his speedrun of Skyrim on Legendary difficulty without any glitches, but the video will be slightly delayed because he, erm, accidentally doxxed himself in it.

Skyrim just celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this year in November, releasing the special Anniversary Edition with new Fishing content and more to mark the occasion. In fact, one developer at Bethesda even revealed to Gamesradar+ that the infamous 'arrow in the knee' quip was never supposed to be made into a meme at all.

Best Skyrim mods | Skyrim hidden quest locations| Skyrim hidden chest locations | Best Skyrim companions | How to get married in Skyrim | Skyrim enchanting guide | Skyrim alchemy guide | Skyrim builds | Best Skyrim quests | Skyrim Anniversary Edition differences | How to fish in Skyrim Anniversary Edition | Skyrim Elysium | Skyrim vampire choice 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail cinematic screenshot showing Alphinaud Leveilleur, an Elezen boy with short white hair
Final Fantasy 14's funniest speedrunning beef continues as runner who lost a world record to its original champ in just 1 day returns, beats record, is promptly dethroned again
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
After a tough eight-year battle, a series of new glitches completely changed The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker speedruns
Super Mario Bros.
It took 490 days, but the Super Mario Bros speedrun world record is now 4 frames better – and just 18 frames away from literal perfection
A screenshot of Elden Ring boss Godfrey, the first Elden Lord
Elden Ring player becomes the first to beat every New Game+ difficulty back to back without getting hit, in an 8-playthrough run that somehow took under 12 hours
Elden Ring
After 3 weeks and 115 attempts, Elden Ring sicko becomes the "first in the world" and "probably the last" to complete a no-hit run at uncapped NG+1,000
Elden Ring
After 48 hours and 729 deaths, Elden Ring sicko takes on the RPG's hardest challenge so far by beating the base game and DLC on NG+ 1,000 without getting hit once
Latest in Action
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
A screenshot of Jordan drinking a soda during the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Hertic Prophet.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "a game about faith and religion," which Neil Druckmann jokes will surely get less hate than The Last of Us 2
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Indy hanging onto a vine as in Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle PS5 release date reportedly set for April after ESRB leak
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says he'll "apologize beforehand" for Death Stranding 2 moments with Troy Baker's Higgs which are "so ridiculous" that "you'll probably throw the controller"
a titanium watch with grey and orange features on the arms and face
You can look like Solid Snake with this Death Stranding 2 watch, but it'll cost you over $1,500
Latest in News
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
Silent Hill f
After 2 years of silence, the next mainline Silent Hill game is getting a dedicated stream this week with "the latest news"
Original Xbox console
Former Microsoft exec says the first Xbox was killed early in favor of 360 because it was "losing money left right and center," but luckily "we could afford to hemorrhage cash"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Despite Monster Hunter Wilds suffering monstrous performance problems on PC, it still outsold the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in the US
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
A screenshot of Jordan drinking a soda during the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Hertic Prophet.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "a game about faith and religion," which Neil Druckmann jokes will surely get less hate than The Last of Us 2