Special Edition or Anniversary

[Raileks]

So I got the special edition(SE) on steam and it offered my the anniversary edition(AE) upgrade as a DLC.  I didn't buy that and assumed I had the special edition.  On skse it even says Compatible with Skyrim Special Edition 1.6.1170 from Steam which is the version I have according to hovering over the .exe in the game folder.

However, some of the mod descriptions (the ones that specify) seem to lump anything 1.6 and up as anniversary and I'm running into this skse version 0.0.0.0 error and from what I'm reading, I suspect the issue might be that I'm using mods for SE version and I need to be using AE.  I'm hoping someone can tell me what version I have before attempting to fix this.

Also, isn't anniversary such a strange word.  Reminds me of adversary.  Anti-adversary? I'll google the etymology later.

[traison]

TESV.exe versions:

1.1.* - 1.9.* are pre-LE and LE.

 

SkyrimSE.exe versions:

1.5.* is SE.

1.6.* is AE.

 

What you bought on Steam is irrelevant. Your Steam receipt is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the exe file version number.

 

Or to be more technical, the only thing that actually matters is the exe file checksum. But you can't go find a compatible version of SKSE with that, so in practice its still the version number. Theoretically there can be as many mutations of 1.6.1170.0 as there's is functional bytecode variations of it, which is to say probably a couple of thousands at least. If you know what I'm hinting at then, have a cookie 🍪

Edited October 29, 2025 by traison

[jfraser]

Anniversary: Originating c. 1200 from Medieval Latin anniversarium, from Latin anniversarius meaning "returning annually,"

 

Pretty much everything is predicated on the latest run of AE at this point. If you have the cash, I suggest you just get it so you don't have to worry about compatibility. 

 

[Grey Cloud]

2 hours ago, Raileks said:

Also, isn't anniversary such a strange word.  Reminds me of adversary.  Anti-adversary? I'll google the etymology later.

AE was released in 2021, i.e. 10 years after Skyrim's original release in 2011.

[belegost]

2 hours ago, traison said:

TESV.exe versions:

1.1.* - 1.9.* are pre-LE and LE.

 

SkyrimSE.exe versions:

1.5.* is SE.

1.6.* is AE.

 

What you bought on Steam is irrelevant. Your Steam receipt is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the exe file version number.

 

Or to be more technical, the only thing that actually matters is the exe file checksum. But you can't go find a compatible version of SKSE with that, so in practice its still the version number. Theoretically there can be as many mutations of 1.6.1170.0 as there's is functional bytecode variations of it, which is to say probably a couple of thousands at least. If you know what I'm hinting at then, have a cookie 🍪

You have an amazing ability to offer a simple explanation at first, only to convolute it with Star Trek-level of technobabble in the following paragraphs.

 

I am quite certain you enjoy jokes about vectors.

Edited October 29, 2025 by belegost

[anjenthedog]

FWIW... "AE" informally describes any 1.6x Skyrim version. The confusion comes about from the **optional** Creation Club content associated with 1.6x's release, which afaik is formally known as "AE"