ESO Announces Quarterly Seasons Starting 2026

ZeniMax Online Studios announced a comprehensive overhaul for The Elder Scrolls Online on Wednesday, marking the game's largest update structure change since 2016. The long-running massively multiplayer online role-playing game will transition to a quarterly seasonal model in 2026, delivering new content, features, and improvements free to all base game players across PC, Mac, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms.

The shift replaces the previous annual chapter and DLC system with three-month seasons, each themed around distinct adventures, zones, and gameplay enhancements. Developers described seasons as flexible packages of experiences, allowing for continuous updates throughout the year rather than a single major release. This approach aims to provide greater variety and responsiveness to player feedback, with early previews through streams, Reddit AMAs, and surveys. All platforms will receive simultaneous updates starting with Update 49 on March 9, 2026, eliminating previous staggered rollouts.

Season Zero, titled Dawn and Dusk, launches April 2, 2026, and runs until July 8. It introduces The Night Market, ESO's first group event zone set in the realm of Fargrave from the Gates of...