If you've been following the Unites States of America's news cycle of late (and this can be difficult to avoid), then you may have heard of the big bad balloon. This is a Chinese balloon that sparked a full-blown diplomatic incident with US president Joe Biden eventually ordering the balloon to be shot down, as it was claimed the balloon was engaged in spying.
Putting aside that the world's most advanced military power with perhaps the most sophisticated spy network on the planet was so alarmed by such a spy balloon, it all blew up into a huge international news event. Now, it has expanded into video games with an enterprising creator sending up a spy balloon in Skyrim courtesy of a mod (via Gfinity).
The 'Aldmeri Dominion Spy Balloon' mod has been created by one EchoEclipseWolf who has taken advantage of the recent entry in international current affairs by putting an object that has snagged headlines in the likes of The New York Times, BBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, among others, into the lands of Skyrim.
"A massive spy balloon believed to be from the Aldmeri Dominion was seen above Riverwood and is being tracked as it flies across Skyrim heading towards Cyrodil," the mod's description reads. It continues: "...with Balgruf the Greater for now deciding against 'military options' because of the risk to civilians, Whiterun officials said on Turdas".
This closely tracks how US officials were talking about the balloon with the Pentagon at first deciding against shooting it down for fear of falling debris causing damage, before ultimately scrambling fighter aircraft to shoot it down once it had been determined it was safe to do so.
As for the Aldmeri Dominion Spy Balloon, the object will rotate, bob up and down, and flies across the world following the river that feeds into Riverwood. While it is animated it has no scripts, and the whole mod runs to less than five megabytes. For those wanting to add spy intrigue to the skies above Skyrim, this mod might satisfy that wish.