With all of the features Bethesda is putting into The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you would think players were paying a monthly subscription fee to play it. In the past month, Kinect voice support has been added to the Xbox 360 version of the game, new execution animations have been added, and the first downloadable content (DLC) for the game, Dawnguard, has been announced.

Today, Bethesda Game Studios has announced that its next game update will include mounted combat as a feature. After the free update, players will no loger have to dismount their trusty steed to one-shot a wolf. Mounted combat was a highly-requested feature from the Skyrim player community, and if another highly-requested feature – spears – are implemented, then mammoth-mounted giant jousting mods can finally become a reality. Though there is no word on any kill-cam animations for the feature, there will be disappointment if Bethesda has not included at least one head-lopping slow-mo. Also, dragon shouts should, presumably, be possible while mounted.

The other items in the 1.6 patch notes are all minor bug fixes. Bethesda hasn’t announced when the new patch will be released, but players of Skyrim on the PC can try it out today by opting-in to Skyrim’s Steam beta updates. The setting for beta updates is located in the Account tab of the Steam Settings menu.

(screenshot courtesy Bethesda)