http://www.bethblog.com/2015/04/27/why-were-trying-paid-skyrim-mods-on-steam

"Some are concerned that this whole thing is leading to a world where mods are tied to one system, DRM’d and not allowed to be freely accessed. That is the exact opposite of what we stand for. Not only do we want more mods, easier to access, we’re anti-DRM as far as we can be. Most people don’t know, but our very own Skyrim DLC has zero DRM. We shipped Oblivion with no DRM because we didn’t like how it affected the game."

My previous post on this subject was, in retrospective, unnecessarily sarcastic and properly locked by a mod. I would, however, honestly appreciate somebody elaborating on the above statement to me.

I don't view Steam itself as DRM, but "we’re anti-DRM as far as we can be" does seem pretty disingenuous when it seems to me and (I believe) many others that you could be more anti-DRM/DRM-free; you could package your games as handy installer files that people can easily play without the need to ever install secondary software (like the Steam client), and sell them on other services like (of course) GOG.com but also Humble Store, GamersGate, etc. Your pre-Skyrim titles are not "integrated" into Steam, correct? So I think there is little justification (other than not making as much money as you would on Steam or perhaps tracking something like "metrics" via Steam) for making all the digital downloads of your PC games Steam exclusives and not openly and easily DRM-free. (Admittedly your DOS Elder Scrolls games are not on Steam, which is odd; it feels like you might be trying to "bury" them. )

I could go on but in a nutshell, currently, I disagree that you're as "anti-DRM as far as [you] can be", and encourage you to actually become so by partnering with GOG or another service to sell DRM-free installers (at least of your older games not integrated into Steam), essentially the equivalent of game disks but digital.

http://www.gog.com/wishlist/games

Aside for being a GoG request, you missed the point of the strong DRM used in past TES games.

This should answer your question:

"It seems to me that the industry as a whole knows DRM doesn’t work, but corporations still use it as a smokescreen, effectively covering their asses, pretending to protect their intellectual property in front of bosses, investors, and shareholders. I’ve actually had quite a few discussions with high level executives who admit they know DRM doesn’t work, but if they don’t use it somebody might accuse them of not protecting their property. Whenever policy trumps common sense, the best interest of gamers is lost in the process."

Marcin Iwinski, co-founder, Joint CEO of CD Projekt RED

They're very much for DRM where and when they can implement it