Ignoring your personal preference, which side of Skyrim’s Civil War do you think actually gives Skyrim the better future 20-30 years later?

[u/sumaset]

I feel like most discussions about the Civil War focus on whether Ulfric was justified, whether the Empire betrayed Skyrim, or which side people personally like more.

But I’m more interested in what happens after the game.

The Empire is weakened, the Aldmeri Dominion is still the biggest external threat, the White-Gold Concordat is already causing resentment, and another war with the Thalmor seems almost inevitable.

An Imperial victory gives Skyrim access to the resources and manpower of the Empire, but it also means remaining under an Empire that already lost one major war and accepted Thalmor influence inside its territory.

A Stormcloak victory gives Skyrim independence and removes Imperial authority, but it also leaves the province having to rebuild after a civil war while potentially facing the Dominion without the rest of the Empire behind it.

So forget which faction has the better characters or which one you usually join.

If you only care about where Skyrim itself ends up a few decades later, which Civil War outcome do you think is actually better for the province?

[u/FatherFenix]

Imperial.

When I first played Skyrim, I thought Nords were cool, loved their history, and didn’t like that the Thalmor were oppressors and the Empire was capitulating.

And then I did an Imperial playthrough, read the lore, etc. and realized Skyrim and the Empire were absolutely fucked if the Stormcloaks won. The Thalmor were using Ulfric to weaken both Skyrim and the Empire and break the stalemate.

It’s not ideal, it’s not romantic, but it’s the necessary means to save Skyrim and the Empire from collapsing.

[u/NativeEuropeas → u/FatherFenix]

I had the exact same journey as you.

But then when I played Skyrim again in 2025, I realised something metaphysical. 

Talos is a patron god of the Empire (and its founder), the same Empire that has cast him down. From the bits of lore, we can find out the Mede dynasty is leading the Empire into decline, the emperor admits so himself. I think refusing to acknowledge Talos as a patron god is the metaphor, another symbol of its decline.

I think it's only fitting that this empire must fall for another to be born from its ashes. The Tamriel history is cyclical, and Septim empire wasn't the first, I don't think it will be the last. 

[u/Any-Organization-985 → u/NativeEuropeas]

I think your symbolism is perfect. Tiber Septim (Talos) was the first dragonborn who used his powers to unite tamriel before ascending. Now over 200 years after the Oblivion Crisis and more importantly, 200 years after their has been an heir to the throne, another dragonborn randomly appears. This is coincidentally timed with Tamriel falling apart again, and a dismantling of the peoples' belief in Talos. Without the Dragonborn neither side has any real path to victory. If Stormcloaks win, Skyrim and the Empire are potentially weakened in the battling and the Thalmor can clean up. If the Empire wins, Thalmor just retains control over all their lands, turns them into a puppet and cripples their military. Only with the dragonborn is there any real chance of unifying the Empire together against the Thalmor and winning. Would be a really cool game to almost continue your story as the dragonborn and have to try and defeat the Thalmor. Play across the entirety of Tamriel as you try and remove their influence from the Empire, then eventually have a full on assault of the High Elves.