It looks like plenty of great things are ahead for fans.
Today, ZeniMax Online Studios revealed major changes coming to The Elder Scrolls Online in the form of Seasons, a brand-new way for players to adventure and earn rewards. Each Season in ESO will have a distinct theme lasting for 3 months, with Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk launching for all platforms on April 2, 2026. All new gameplay content included in a Season, be it a new zone, dungeon, storyline, system, class, or skill line, will be free for all base-game players, removing the previous barriers to new content and ensuring all ESO players can enjoy all of Tamriel’s new features at no cost and at the same time, together.
Check out the ESO Seasons Announcement livestream here. Additional ESO assets can be found here.
What’s in a Season?
While the specifics and scope will change with each new and distinct Season, players can expect each one to bring new rewards, adventures, and ways to play. A Season can contain anything from new gameplay content such as new zones, storylines, classes, skill lines, and systems, to quality of life updates and performance improvements, completely free for everyone who owns ESO. Tamriel Tomes will add a new battle-pass like experience to each Season, with free rewards and optional paid upgrade paths for those who wish to earn even more. Find out more about Tamriel Tomes here, and ESO’s new in-game reward store, the Gold Coast Bazaar here.
Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk
Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk will be the first of its kind and launch simultaneously for PC and consoles (another first for ESO) on April 2, 2026, and runs until July 8, 2026. Season Zero introduces a new kind of event zone experience with The Night Market, a new area in the Oblivion realm of Fargrave that will be available for a seven-week period.
Players can choose one of three unique factions, pledging their service in a gauntlet of challenging PvE encounters. The Night Market will feature new stories, characters, quests, and a new earnable in-game home, and will be the first of ESO’s Event Zones. Whilst limited-time, Event Zones like the Night Market are intended to return in later Seasons, allowing players to choose a different faction and experience the content in a new way.
Player Experience Improvements
Season Zero (and Update 49 launching on March 9) will include the first wave of quality-of-life changes, developed by a new, dedicated internal team. Focusing on finding, evaluating, and solving player pain points, this team was built to address some of the longstanding player requests. This first wave of changes includes the ability to respec Skills and Attributes directly from the UI at no cost, faster training for Riding skills, increased furnishing limits for at least half of the game’s player houses, and much more.
Combat and Class Refresh
Update 49 and Season Zero also continues the work to review and improve ESO’s core combat experience, and this Season introduces changes and improvements to the Dragonknight class. This includes a visual refresh for many of its abilities and a rework of its core skill lines. This Season also includes a visual refresh for the Two-Handed Weapon skill line, and a major rework of Werewolf visuals later in the season, including a highly-requested female werewolf model.
PvP and PvE Additions
Late in Season Zero, ESO will introduce two major gameplay additions that have been long-requested, particularly by veteran players. Challenge Difficulty is the first step in a new system that increases overland gameplay and allows players to opt for a more difficult, more rewarding, version of the overland content they already know and love. Additionally, the Vengeance PvP Progression System will allow PvP players to rank up and progress to earn new rewards and even unique passive abilities.
Future Seasons
Season Zero serves as the foundation for many future ESO Seasons and the exciting new features they will bring. See below for an early look at the content planned for future Seasons coming in 2026, including a new Thieves Guild questline, the return of Sheogorath, a new end-game Trial, solo dungeons and a brand-new event on the high seas. Please note the roadmap below is subject to change as development continues.
For more information on everything revealed today for ESO and Seasons, visit here.
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