Just ahead of the new year, ZeniMax Online Studios worried the Elder Scrolls Online playerbase with the announcement that the studio would go into the MMORPG’s 11th year with a brand-new cadence – one that wouldn’t include annual chapters. Now, thanks to this afternoon’s 2025 ESO Direct, we (and the game’s 26M other players) are finally getting a clearer picture of what what new cadence will entail.
“It’s time to shake things up in ESO,” ZOS president Matt Firor said on the stream. The studio wants to “change the way [ZOS] deliver[s] content” so that the game is still going hard years into the future. So here’s everything you need to know about the reveals today as well as more details from the Q&A sessions with press and influencers held earlier this week.
The new cadence
First, the devs say that while the old annual chapter system offered a “specific rhythm that you could count on,” they want more freedom to introduce variety to the game – i.e., with more time delivering new content and gameplay systems for the basegame, experimenting with new and different types of content, tackling core problems like combat and the UI, and addressing “longstanding player feedback.” Basically, they want to build more time into the development process to take on some of the content and fundamental changes that are essential to the game’s health but may not market or organize well into the chapter format.
That means the new content will be organized into seasons of varying length without a chapter; some may even be as short as three or six months.
Notably, the devs reject the idea that the new cadence represents a “content slowdown.” Game director Rich Lambert said that we’ll be getting about the same amount of content as we used to get with chapters/DLC, just split into pieces. And some of the content (which we’ll get to shortly) is bigger than anything the game’s ever done before – and that’s without touching on the content the devs wouldn’t reveal yet.
Firor does caution players that it’s possible there may come a year when the devs don’t add a new zone as we’re used to, but if so, that’d just mean the devs are adding a bunch of other systems or content instead. Essentially, they just want to tell stories that aren’t necessarily chapter-sized.
The new business model
ZOS says that 2025 is a “transition” year for the new seasons and the new business model, which is basically a $49.99 annual pass (called a “content pass” because it doesn’t necessarily line up with seasons) that gives players access to all of the new content released over the entire year. That content will include patches, story, systems, dungeons, and so forth, but not in a predictable pattern. It’s kinda like you’re paying for the three DLC and the chapter in one go, only the chapter is split up a bit. Future years will probably feel less like a split-up chapter (again, transition year).
The 2025 content pass will be available for purchase immediately following the Direct event today. Note that the content pass is not baked into the MMO’s optional subscription (ESO Plus), but the devs are planning to flesh out the sub with more perks, though they dodged hard examples of what that will entail. It does sound as if ESO Plus will at least cover the new dungeons being added, which would’ve been the bulk of the new DLC, minus the chapters, which haven’t been included anyway. But in our estimation, the devs are going to have to add something for folks who run a sub and the pass as they’re effectively paying for the dungeons twice.
“You’re still getting access to the things that traditionally you got access to as part of ESO Plus,” executive producer Susan Kath said in a second Q&A (we assume for EU press). “It is just a way to group the content over the entire year into one package that you can prepurchase, so you have access to it all the moment we release it.” Stay tuned for more details on this because right now we just don’t know much.
Notably, the Fallen Banners DLC, which when it launched last month was available to subbers but not for individual purchase, will land on the crown store for purchase this evening. (We assume the studio is hoping players will just buy the 2025 content pass instead, which also includes the DLC dungeons, and now ZOS won’t have to process a whole bunch of refunds or amortization.)
The new content
The first season is called Seasons of the Worm Cult. ZOS considers it a sequel to the basegame storyline as Molag Bal’s Worm Cult returns as the Big Bad. In the first release – coming in June – players will head to the tropical island of Solstice and its capital of Sunport (yes, those leaks about the new zone were true) and aid the Argonian and High Elf outcasts who live on the island as they fight back against the Worm Cult, which of course has also set up shop on the island. Expect a whole range of fan-favorite NPCs returning, including Prince Azah, Razum-Dar, and Skordo.
Solstice isn't all fun in the sun. 🏝️ Something sinister awaits. pic.twitter.com/qhanuewiTi
— The Elder Scrolls Online (@TESOnline) April 10, 2025
Later in the summer, the devs will patch in the Writhing Wall event, which is essentially a server-wide player-vs.-wall showdown. Each server will need to move through a massive phased event to try to break down the glowing evil wall dividing the island. You’ll build up camps and siege defenses and construct a weapon to breach the wall. ZOS does note that there will be a way to participate in the wall event even if you don’t buy the season pass, but no details yet.
Finally, by the end of the year, players will have hopefully made it to the the evil side of the island, though the devs aren’t really talking about how that content will shake out just yet. It will, of course, include the rest of the Solstice zone and the finale for the storyline.
The new systems
The major new system coming this year with the June patch is subclassing, and it actually sounds extremely cool. It’s being touted as a “brand-new way to help players build to their character fantasy.” Once you’ve got a level 50 toon on your account, you will be able to use skills from other classes that you’ve unlocked in the account-wide system (though it also sounds as if you can buy skill lines directly too). Both new and existing toons can take advantage of the system; you’ll keep the gear and one skill line from your core class, then add two more, meaning skill lines from a possible three total classes, which works out to over 3000 possible combinations. ZOS devs stressed they don’t want people to have to reroll to access this system. A key point: Subclassing is a basegame update.
The other system to mention here is actually as much a philosophy as a system. “‘You belong [here]’ will be the center of everything we do going forward,” Firor told press, emphasizing the catchphrase that the devs have been using in videos and posts for quite a while now. And that philosophy will materialize in the form of continuing efforts to welcome new and returning players back to the game (there are “millions” joining the game for the first time every year). Kath noted that the studio has already been working on features like polishing the starting zones, but the team also wants to target returning players too – and that included her. She joked that even she struggled finding things when she leaped back into the game after time away, and she aims to make the games varied systems easier (and more rewarding) to find. After all, why bother adding new content if people don’t even know it’s there and couldn’t find it even if they did?
A few other notes…
Housing: By the end of the press event earlier this week, the Q&A I was in had 13 upvotes for a question about housing updates, significantly more than any other question the entire event, but community boss Gina Bruno didn’t pose it to devs. We don’t know whether that means housing is being ignored or it means they have something good cooking for housing and don’t want to spoil it or she just didn’t see it. But the reporters did try!
PvP: Readers will know that ZOS has been testing a major overhaul for the game’s Cyrodiil PvP map, specifically to revitalize the core PvP activity and get to the root of the lag. Apparently, it’s going extremely well – “beyond our wildest dreams successful,” Firor says, though the devs are still sifting through data.
Endgame: Fallen Banners won’t be the only dungeon pack of the year; there’s also one launching in Q3 called Feast of Shadows. Endgamers can also look forward to a new 12-person trial (raid) coming in June. “The team has outdone themselves again,” Lambert said, suggesting endgamers will love it.
“We know”: At one point, while discussing remix seasons and touching back on past content, Lambert teased the Dark Brotherhood’s classic phrase. Huh. Whatever could it mean.
FOMO: During the second Q&A, Lambert addressed a question about FOMO with the seasonal structure, saying that sometimes the game will bring content back and some of the more exclusive items will be achievable in other ways. But he does acknowledge that FOMO will be a thing with seasons. Right now, it’s not entirely clear which 2025 content will be available in future years and whether/how you’ll access it.
Guilds: During the other Q&A, the devs say that they have some guild content coming, but they don’t want to talk about it yet.
UI: The UI modernization effort for PC is definitely still happening – incrementally.
Companions: The devs know that companions are popular and will likely keep adding more, though no commitment for when or how many. There could even be a “companion season” at some point.
The prologue event for Seasons of the Worm Cult is already underway, as is the sale of the content pass.
Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 is included within the 2025 Content Pass and 2025 Premium Edition and arrives on June 2, 2025, for PC/Mac and June 18, 2025, for Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
You can also go grab your freebie:
