The future of The Elder Scrolls Online starts with Season Zero

Ever since its release in 2014, The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) has followed a familiar MMO pattern of yearly paid DLC expansion releases. Known as chapters, these paid expansions added all kinds of new content, but now all content will be accessible for free and arrive more often via The Elder Scrolls Online seasons.

The pivot to seasons is a major change for The Elder Scrolls Online fans to get accustomed to. We’ve broken down the key system and content adjustments that have been unveiled so far, from how seasons will work to seasonal events, new currencies, and updates that will lay the foundations for The Elder Scrolls Online roadmap for 2026 and beyond.

What are The Elder Scrolls Online seasons?

The debut of The Elder Scrolls Online seasons means the development team is no longer working on a single major annual update, but content will arrive continuously throughout the year due to the periodic release of seasons. All ESO players will get free access to the Thieves Guild, Orsinium, Dark Brotherhood, and Imperial City DLCs as part of this move.

Each season is expected to be unique and will introduce new adventures to embark on, further realms to explore, and new ways to play. Typically, a season will contain new gameplay content, which can be in the form of a new zone, storyline, questline, class, skill line, or systems for your ESO builds. 

A new battle pass-like system will be tied to each season to obtain rewards, as well as a new reward store to spend an earned currency known as Trade Bars. Also, seasons will deploy quality of life, performance, and balance updates. Although some seasonal content will rotate in and out, each season will possess a distinct theme and fresh additions.

All new The Elder Scrolls Online gameplay content tied to season updates will be free for owners of the base game, but there will be optional premium features to purchase, such as bonus battle pass tracks.

ESO seasons will last approximately three months, with the first season, named Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk, beginning on April 2, 2026, and running until July 8, 2026. 

The Elder Scrolls Online Season Zero events and combat

Seasons will bring Event Zones, with the very first to be revealed called the Night Market. The Night Market will be on the map as a new area in the Oblivion realm of Fargrave. It will be open for business on April 29, 2026, for a seven-week period until June 17, 2026. 

At the Night Market, you can choose from one of three unique factions to use in a gauntlet of challenging PvE encounters. Even after the closure of the Night Market, it will return in a future ESO update with adjustments, including allowing you to choose a different faction. 

As for combat, The Elder Scrolls Online Season Zero will bring about changes and improvements to the Dragonknight class. It will undergo a visual refresh for many of its abilities and a rework of its core skill lines. The Two-Handed Weapon skill line will also see a visual refresh, while the Werewolf will receive the same treatment and receive a highly-requested female werewolf model. 

Later in Season Zero, there will be the launch of a further PvP and PvE refresh with the Challenge difficulty, a harder, but more rewarding way to play. Moreover, there will be ways to rank up and snag new rewards and unique passive abilities for Vengeance PvP campaigns.

The Elder Scrolls Online Season Zero currencies and rewards

Each of the ESO seasons will welcome a new Tamriel Tome, a battle pass-esque system with a revamped way for you to earn in-game collectibles, currencies, and rewards. Tamriel Tomes offer the chance to complete weekly and seasonal challenges to get your hands on a new Tome Points currency. 

Each page within the Tome will contain a range of rewards for you to choose from, and as you continue to earn Tome Points, new pages unlock. After you have unlocked a page, it’s your choice as to whether you wish to spend your Tome Points on that page’s items or save them up for specific rewards later on.

Just like similar systems across live-service games, the ESO battle pass is free, but you can expect it to contain The Elder Scrolls Online premium rewards that come at a price. Owning the paid version of the Tome allows you to continue unlocking its rewards after the season expires.

Perhaps one of the most popular additions with the rollout of The Elder Scrolls Online Season Zero is the Gold Coast Bazaar. It’s an in-game rewards store that features previously available content, including from past events, Golden Pursuits, Daily Login rewards, Anniversary Spotlights, and Twitch Drops. 

These returning rewards will rotate in and out of the store with every season and can be acquired using Trade Bars, replacing Event Tickets, and mainly earned through the Tamriel Tome. With the launch of Season Zero, the Gold Coast Bazaar will contain approximately 100 items.

Looking beyond Season Zero

The Elder Scrolls Online developer, ZeniMax Online Studios, has already shared a sneak peek at what’s to come in not only Season Zero, but Season One and Season Two, too. This involves a new Thieves Guild questline, end-game trial, an event on the high seas, solo dungeons, and so much more. Before the seasonal model goes into effect, The Elder Scrolls Online Update 49 will go live on March 25, 2026, focusing on gameplay changes and improvements. 

As a result of this update, 16 mounts will be moved from the Crown Store to be purchasable with gold, the 30-day listing window will return for Guild traders, faster crafting research will be enabled, and more. Update 49 will also mark the first time all base game patches and updates will be available on all platforms simultaneously, a precedent that will continue.