The Elder Scrolls Online is getting a major shakeup in its additional gameplay content with the introduction of Seasons.
ZeniMax Online Studios recently revealed the changes to its hit MMORPG, breaking up new additions to the game into smaller, themed chunks.
Seasons are the result of this change, and the developer detailed what to expect from this shift.
The Elder Scrolls Online Seasons Explained
Each Season will last for three months, starting with Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk on April 2, 2026. Any given Season will feature a variety of new gameplay additions for players, including new zones, storylines, systems, classes, or skills. There will also be the kind of stuff you’d find in general patches such as performance updates and quality of life tweaks
Dawn and Dusk introduces a new kind of event zone experience with The Night Market, a new area in the Oblivion realm of Fargrave that will be available until the season’s end on July 8, 2026.
The change also brings a battle pass system to Tamriel Tomes, complete with free and paid paths to rewards.
A roadmap has also been laid out for future Seasons, teasing a new Thieves Guild questline, the return of Sheogorath, a new end-game Trial, solo dungeons, and a brand-new event on the high seas.
What’s significant about this move away from chunky paid expansions is that content in each Season will be available to all base-game ESO players for free.
So there is an upside in terms of barriers to entry, but one of the key reasons ESO has had longstanding success is due to the quality of its expansions. It’s what makes it somewhat unique in the era of live-service games. Hopefully, the changes don’t have a negative impact in the long term.
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