Over a year ago, ZeniMax Online Studios announced that its MMORPG Elder Scrolls Online would transition from the expansion-like Chapter model to a seasonal model. However, 2025 was a transitional year in which the so-called Seasons of the Worm Cult still retained some elements of the Chapter model.
It is only now that the studio is launching the proper Seasons model, which will go live on April 2, 2026, with Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk. The reveal came today during a livestream that we at Wccftech, alongside other outlets, were able to watch in advance.
Right away, one big change is that for the first time in the history of Elder Scrolls Online, an update (specifically Update 49) will be released simultaneously on PC and consoles. This is a necessary first step toward cross-play, which the studio is still working on, although it will take some time to achieve it.
Game Director Nick Giacomini, whom we interviewed at Gamescom 2025 after he took over from Rich Lambert, emphasized that the team has frequently heard from players that the game has become more predictable lately. This change can make the game more rewarding and exciting, he said, and the Chapter model limited ZOS because it took a long time to produce, leaving little room to react to player feedback or address longstanding issues.
Updates and content will still arrive quarterly, but ZOS is moving Elder Scrolls Online away from the templated and stale release cadence of a dungeon pack, a new featured zone, another dungeon pack, and so on. This model also lets the developers keep iterating on the core game. Perhaps one of the most significant changes is that all new content coming to the game will be free starting with Season Zero. No longer will there be barriers to playing a new Trial or dungeon with friends.
The goal is that each season may look completely different. Seasons will happen four times a year, be three months long, and each will contain a Tamriel Tome and access to the Gold Coast Bazaar. Tamriel Tomes are the game's version of a Battle Pass.
Each season has a unique Tome available for the full season. Everyone has access to the free version and progresses by completing weekly and seasonal challenges to earn Tome Points, unlocking pages and choosing rewards. By the way, ZeniMax Online Studios is reworking Daily Login Rewards and the Endeavors system within Tamriel Tomes. There are also two paid premium upgrade options for Tamriel Tomes. These unlock additional tiers of rewards (cosmetics, personalities, mounts). With the premium options, players can continue unlocking pages even after the season ends.
The Gold Coast Bazaar, on the other hand, is a new in-game store dedicated to earnable rewards. This is a consistent place to claim limited-time cosmetics you might have missed in the past (events, Twitch drops, etc.), which is something the Elder Scrolls Online community had long requested. Items in the Bazaar are purchased with Trade Bars, which are earned primarily in the Tamriel Tomes but also through regular gameplay.
The developers also revealed they're getting rid of Event Tickets. Players with existing Event Tickets will receive Trade Bars in exchange. Unlike Event Tickets, there is no cap on how many Trade Bars you can hold. Trade Bars cannot be purchased with Crowns; they must be earned by playing.
What about ESO Plus, the current subscription model? Well, it's staying. Its price won't change and subscribers will accumulate one token for every 12 months they are subscribed, which they can use to unlock one Premium track for a Tamriel Tome of their choice. They also get a monthly grant of Tamriel Tome points and an accelerated earning rate for earning those in the game.
When it comes to content, Season Zero's highlight will be the first-ever Event Zone: the Night Market. This limited-time PvE zone set in Fargrave will be much more challenging than the usual zone, requiring players to group up (organically) to succeed. The zone also features a faction system. Players align with one of three factions, and there is a competition to see which faction makes the most progress. Of course, there will be various rewards, and even a brand new house with a Bank included inside for the first time. The Night Market will be available in the game from April 29 through mid-June, although the developers have opened up to the possibility of bringing it back and possibly making it permanent. Additionally, a first iteration of the optional Overland difficulty system is coming toward the end of Season Zero.
A new PvE group Trial called Crimson Veldt will be released in Season One, while Season Two will see the introduction of Solo Dungeons. These are one-man versions of existing dungeons, starting with Moon Hunter Keep and March of Sacrifices. Season One will also add new stories and quests based on the Thieves Guild and the Mad Daedric Prince, Sheogorath.
Throughout the year and beyond, the team has committed to a series of visual and combat improvements (including reduced floatiness) to enhance visuals for class and weapon abilities and improve class identity. It will start with the Dragonknight class and two-handed skill-line, then the Werewolf skill-line at the end of Season Zero, the Warden class in Season One, the Sorcerer class in Season Two, and so on.
But that's not all. The roadmap reveals that Season One will introduce multi-stage, dynamic world events for the first time in Elder Scrolls Online, as well as a new system called the Sage Vault. Moreover, Season Zero adds the first full-fledged PvP progression system to the MMORPG, and the studio said they are making big investments in Player-versus-Player content, including bringing back three-sided Battlegrounds, fixing spawn camping issues in maps like Mor Khazgu, adding ways to get around the Cyrodiil RvR map faster, and fixing Alessia, Ash, and Chalman keeps to stop players from slingshotting into inner keeps.
Before Season Zero: Dusk and Dawn, Update 49 will go live on March 9, 2026 with the following quality of life improvements:
- Free Respecs: You can respec skills and attributes directly from the UI at no cost.
- Guild Traders: Return to the 30-day listing window.
- Outfit Slots: These are becoming account-wide.
- Riding Training: Faster training duration.
- Attribute Points: You can now add stat increases in bulk (three at a time) rather than one by one.
- Mounts for Gold: Adding a brand new mount for gold and moving 16 existing Crown Store mounts to be purchasable with gold.
- Housing Limits: Furnishing limits are being increased on over half of the houses. ESO Plus members get an additional boost to limits.
- Antiquities: Longer exploration times and increased duration across all difficulties.
Lastly, the team let it slip that it is working on Guild Mail, which the Guild Masters would definitely love, and Guild Housing, which everyone in a guild would appreciate. For more on the massive changes coming to Elder Scrolls Online, check out the full interview of the assembled press with Nick Giacomini and Executive Producer Susan Kath.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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