Don’t call it a new chapter...
Image credit: Bethesda Softworks / Zenimax Online Studios
Back in September, studio game director Rich Lambert told GamesIndustry.biz that the Elder Scrolls Online team were exploring a move from big expansions to smaller, more frequent updates. Jump ahead four months and, well, that’s exactly what they’re doing.
Wait, stop running away from me, I’m not bringing you old news reheated like the last of the (now decidedly whiffy) Christmas turkey leftovers, I come bearing fresh details like… a freshly cooked turkey that is seasoned with patch notes and battlepass infographics.
Yum.
Image credit: Bethesda Softworks / Zenimax Online Studios
Ahead of the break for Christmas I was given details of the first three seasons coming in 2026 and then swiftly sworn to secrecy under threat of murder by the Dark Brotherhood. Thankfully that contract has now expired and that blade at my back sheathed. I can tell you that it’s not just the cadence and scale of releases that’s changing. All these new seasonal updates will be free for players, whether they’re playing through Game Pass or paid up ESO Plus members.
On April 2, Zenimax Online Studios will release Season Zero for The Elder Scrolls Online. This will then be followed by Season One in July and Season Two in October. Gone are the days of the 12 - 18 month wait between major expansions, and in their place is a new season model that sees smaller updates released every three months.
"We’ve heard from players that the game has become predictable and too formulaic," game director Nick Giaomini said at the pre-Christmas briefing. Adding that the chapter model was partly to blame: "It took 18 months, longer than that, to do. It was all hands on deck to support. That lead time just didn’t really leave much room to react to player feedback or address long standing issues."
Unlike the chapter expansions, which contained broad baskets of new toys for all types of players, such as new areas to explore, storylines to follow, dungeons to crawl, and classes to unlock, seasons will be less generous but more focused. This change, Giaomini said, will give the team the "flexibility to make our game more exciting and invest in addressing long standing pain points, add features and improvements players have been asking for, and update and iterate on the core game, rather than always just chasing something brand new."
You can see something of that more bitesized approach in ESO’s first three upcoming seasons, which make changes and additions across the game, not only focused in a new region.
Image credit: Bethesda Softworks / Zenimax Online Studios
In Season Zero, coming in April, there is a new PvE area called The Night Market, the introduction of a battle pass called Tamriel Tomes, a PvP progression system for Vengeance players, and new difficulty options for players wanting to up the challenge in overland areas. Alongside these new toys, the team is also providing an art and balance refresh for the Dragonknight class and the two-handed weapon skill tree. Later in the season there will also be a similar update to the Werewolf class.
Then, in July’s Season Two update, alongside new quests for the Thieves Guild, multi-stage co-op world events, and a new trial called the Crimson Veldt, the team is working on a similar balance and art refresh for the Warden Class.
October’s Season Three brings a new dungeon, dynamic world events, and a refresh for the Sorcerer class.
The updates remind me of Ubisoft’s approach to Rainbox Six Siege Seasons. After the shooter got a little long in the tooth, they slowed the expansion of the game and announced Operation Health. Ubisoft used each new season as an opportunity to overhaul older maps and characters to better fit in with all the new content that had been released in the years since. It was a healthy change, and meant that characters released early in the Siege’s history and fell out of use gained a second wind.
Image credit: Bethesda Softworks / Zenimax Online Studios
This shift to seasons also sees many of the previous expansions – the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Orsinium, and the Imperial City – rolled into the base game. Previously, you had to buy these as separate DLC or be a paying ESO Plus member. Naturally, Zenimax isn’t doing this out of the goodness of its heart. Seasons brings a new way for you to spend your coin in the Elder Scrolls Online.
Tamriel Tomes is ESO’s new battle pass system. A new Tome is released each season and it brings an unlock track where you can earn rewards by completing certain challenges within the game. Challenges might mean completing certain dungeons, crafting certain items, or competing in PvP. Complete the challenges, earn points, and spend those points on rewards. Those rewards are largely cosmetic, with new armour sets, furnishings for your homes, and Seals of Endeavour (the in-game currency you use to buy Crown Crate items).
Image credit: Bethesda Softworks / Zenimax Online Studios
While there is a free Tamriel Tomes battle pass, there are also two paid upgrades which unlock extra tiers and rewards to be earned in each season. However, the unlocks don’t have to be earned within the season’s timespan, which is a bit of a blessing.
The shadow over all of these changes is that Microsoft gutted the studio back in July, when they laid off more than 9000 employees across the corporation. Zenimax staff described the cuts at the time as "inhumane", coming swiftly and giving little opportunity for fired workers to even say goodbye. The team was working on a new project, codenamed Blackbird, which was cancelled as part of the downsizing.
What Giaomini says about a shift to seasonal releases allowing the remaining team to be more nimble sounds sensible, but I do wonder how much of it is a necessary shift as a result of a much reduced workforce. Would the ability to maintain the MMO and create the amount of content included in a new expansion simply have been impossible following the cuts? I’m due to speak with someone at Zenimax next week, where hopefully I’ll find out more.