The Elder Scrolls® Online
Open-world fantasy MMORPG for solo questing, co-op, and PvP
ZeniMax Online Studios · Published by Bethesda Softworks · Released May 22, 2017
ActionAdventureMassively MultiplayerRPG
- Reviews
- Very Positive
- 81% of 162K
- Recent reviews
- Mostly Positive
- 75% of 357 in 30 days
- Playing now
- 4,912
- peak 24h 6,552
- Steam Deck
- Verified
- Last update
- 3 weeks ago
- Sep 1, 2026
Metacritic: 80/100 (critic reviews)
What is The Elder Scrolls® Online?
An open-world fantasy MMORPG set across Tamriel nearly 1,000 years before Skyrim. You customize a character, explore regions, complete story quests and challenges, fight Daedra, cooperate with other players, or enter PvP combat. This edition includes the base game and the Morrowind, Imperial City, Orsinium, Thieves Guild, and Dark Brotherhood adventures.
For you if...
- +you enjoy exploring Tamriel through story-focused quests
- +you want an MMORPG playable solo or cooperatively
- +you like combining open-world exploration with optional PvP
Not for you if...
- −you want a purely offline Elder Scrolls adventure
- −you prefer tightly guided progression over open-world exploration
What players say
81% of 161,706 reviews are positive · 75% of 357 in the last 30 days
Players praise the explorable version of Tamriel, its story and lore, and the ability to quest solo or with friends. The dominant complaint is layered monetization: many say inventory and crafting become tedious without ESO Plus, while recent season-pass additions make a paid game feel increasingly costly.
Screenshots and trailer
The Elder Scrolls® Online system requirements
As published by the developer.
Minimum
- OS
- Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor
- Intel® Core™ i5 2300 or AMD FX4350
- Graphics
- Direct X 11.0 compliant video card with 1GB RAM (NVIDIA® GeForce® 560 or AMD Radeon™ 6870)
- Memory
- 4 GB RAM
- Storage
- 150 GB available space
- DirectX
- Version 11
Recommended
- OS
- Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor
- Intel® Core™ i5 2300 or AMD FX4350
- Graphics
- Direct X 11.0 compliant video card with 4GB of RAM (NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970 or AMD Radeon™ RX 570) or higher
- Memory
- 8 GB RAM
- Storage
- 150 GB available space
- DirectX
- Version 11
PC version details
DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.
- DRM
- None declared on Steam
- Third-party account
- Elder Scrolls Online Account (Supports Linking to Steam Account)
- Controller
- Keyboard and mouse
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS
- Steam features
- Family Sharing, Trading cards, In-app purchases, HDR
- Age rating
- 17+
Steam Deck: Verified
- All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
- Shows Steam Deck controller icons
- In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
- Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
- External controllers are not supported for the primary player
Multiplayer and co-op
Languages
Full audio: English, French, German, Japanese. Text only: Russian, Spanish - Spain, Simplified Chinese.
Tags
- RPG
- MMORPG
- Open World
- Fantasy
- Adventure
- Multiplayer
- Exploration
- Singleplayer
- Massively Multiplayer
- Action
- Character Customization
- PvP
- PvE
- Lore-Rich
- Story Rich
- Class-Based
Recent updates
- Sep 1, 2026 · An Update on the Warden and Class Refresh
- Aug 13, 2026 · Combat Updates – Update 51 PTS
- Jun 8, 2026 · Update 50 Base-Game Patch Now Live on All Platforms
- Apr 14, 2026 · Update 50 is Now Available on the Public Test Server
- Apr 11, 2026 · Werewolf Update From The Combat Refresh Team
6 DLC available.
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