Big changes are coming to The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) as it moves to a new update schedule in 2025.
In a blog post, Matt Firor from ZeniMax Online Studios shared why they’re shaking things up. Since 2017, ESO has launched big expansions called Chapters every year, like the Gold Road this year. These updates brought lots of new stuff—zones, quests, dungeons, and more. They usually dropped in June, which meant the team had to rush a bit. Though it worked well, it left little room for trying new ideas.
Instead of sticking to yearly Chapters, ESO will now roll out seasonal updates, lasting three to six months each. These will include fresh stories, dungeons, and events. Next year is a sort of “practice year” as they transition. Some big updates will still come along with these seasonal ones.
Firor mentioned, “Freeing up the dev team from needing to adhere to a strict annual cycle means we will be able to have teams launch content when it is ready throughout the year and not work to a date in June–this will let us focus on a greater variety of content spread over the year.”
Even though Chapters are going away, ESO won’t stop giving players new stories and zones. Firor said larger areas will be split across several updates, and stories from older zones will continue. New tales about the Dark Brotherhood, Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, and Thieves Guild are on the way. For those eager for a new zone, there’s hope; details will emerge in April on what makes it different.
Fans always want something new and exciting, and it seems like ESO is ready to deliver that.
In 2025, ZeniMax will try some cool experiments. They’ll make PvP better by adding special skills for classes in huge battles, make combat tougher in the open world, and introduce more unique zones and tools for guilds.
Firor also noted that they’ll enhance the game for both newcomers and returning players. This includes sprucing up starting zones, improving the UI, and making it easier for old players to dive back in.
Recently, ZeniMax Online formed a union, recognized by Microsoft. This places it alongside other unions at ZeniMax, like those at Bethesda and in QA, under the Communication Workers of America (CWA). Microsoft is staying neutral on union matters, as per an agreement with the CWA.
