A few days back, we reported on the possibility of Bethesda's next Skyrim expansion being titled Hearthfire, a name Elder Scrolls fans may recognize as the ninth month in the universe's calendar and one that pointed towards a September release. 

Now it looks like those reports were right on the money, as Bethesda has officially announced Hearthfire and it does indeed have a September release date, at least on the Xbox 360. 

According the Bethesda's official statement, "Hearthfire allows you to purchase land and build your own home from the ground up - from a simple one-room cottage to a sprawling compound complete with armory, alchemy laboratory, and more. Choose your land, customize your house, guard it from unwanted visitors, and turn your house into a home by adopting children." We only hope you can then proceed to sell said children and turn mad profits, a la Fable.

Bethesda goes into more detail in a press release. You will be able to choose from three different lands when building up your property; there's "the salt marshes of Hjaalmarch, the forest of Falkreath, or the vast tundra of The Pale." As you grow in strength and influence, you can "purchase multiple plots and start building a real estate empire."

Your homes can be customized "with a variety of room combinations including an armory, alchemy tower, kitchen, trophy room and more." It sounds like some of the rooms you build in your home can even have an impact on minute to minute gameplay and your inventory. "Grow plants in your new greenhouse," Bethesda brags, "cultivate slaughterfish in the fish hatchery, house your Arcan Enchanter in the enchanting tower, or display your latest conquest in the trophy room. Add additional features like stables, mills, smelters, gardens and more."

When it comes to guarding your home, you may choose to assign any one of your followers the role of steward to "improve and protect your home." You can even hire personal bards and carriage drivers to help with the home. When it comes time to turn that home into a house with children, you can play games with the kids, buy them pets, and even get new bonuses just from starting a family.

Hearthfire will be out on the Xbox 360 on September 4th for a mere 400 Microsoft Points. As is expected, there has been no word of release for the PC or Playstation 3, the latter of which has yet to even receive the Dawnguard expansion.

If you just can't wait to get your house up and running, Bethesda and Machinima have got you covered. The first trailer for the expansion is embedded below.