Today, ZeniMax Online Studios announced the 2026 plans for its hit online MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO).
During an official livestream (seen in full below), the developers revealed that the game will be changing its operations considerably and adding plenty of additional content over the next year. First and foremost, The Elder Scrolls Online is moving away from yearly paid Chapters in favor of a free seasonal model.
The Elder Scrolls Online will now feature four three-month seasons per year, starting with Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk on April 2, 2026, all of which will be free for base-game owners, centering around narrative and gameplay content. This will also include the new Night Market event zone and Tamriel Tomes battle pass.
The Night Market is a new high-difficulty PvE zone in Fargrave where players join one of three factions to compete for rewards, like upgradeable homes. Speaking of difficulty, the long-requested Challenge Difficulty system, Overland, is being added, letting players choose up to three optional difficulty levels for increased gold and XP rewards.
Tamriel Tomes is a three-month battle pass, which is set to replace the Daily Login rewards and Seals of Endeavor, featuring three tiers: Free, Premium ($15), and Premium+ ($30). After Season Zero, Season One will add new Thieves Guild and Sheogorath quests, the “Sage’s Vault” system, and a new Trial called Crimson Veldt. The expected release time is Summer.
Gold Coast Bazaar with replace Event Tickets, allowing players to access an all-new storefront using Trade Bars to purchase new and legacy items, including past Crown Crate content. It will be on March 25 with an initial offering of items, with rotating and evergreen awards being added as of Season Zero.
In Fall 2026, The Elder Scrolls Online Season Two introduces High Seas of Tamriel, an event with naval combat, and two solo dungeons. There will also be plenty of quality-of-life touch ups the new year rolls on, including:
- The ability to hide outfit slots (chest, waist, etc.)
- Class identity reworks
- Mounts added to stablemasters for gold purchase
- Free skill & attribute respecs via UI
- Account-wide outfit slots
- Faster mount training
The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is currently available on PC, Mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. For more information on this and other Bethesda-related projects, be sure to check back to Simulation Daily for updates.
