PCGame

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

Third-party account required

Reviews
Very Positive
81% of 144K
Recent reviews
Mostly Positive
76% of 296 in 30 days
Players
7,094
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Verified
Last update on Steam
3 weeks ago
Oct 14, 2026
Minimum PC
Direct X 11.0 compliant w…
4 GB RAM · 150 GB disk
Full requirements

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 144,195 reviews are positive · 76% of 296 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.

Players over time

▼ -14% vs a month ago

Players online on Steam, one sample a day.

Highest since Sep 2026: 9,110 players on Sep 21, 2026.

Show the data
DayPlayers
Nov 7, 20267,094
Nov 6, 20266,279
Nov 5, 20266,256
Nov 4, 20267,162
Nov 3, 20266,243
Nov 2, 20266,432
Nov 1, 20266,740
Oct 31, 20266,822
Oct 30, 20265,763
Oct 29, 20265,833
Oct 28, 20266,080
Oct 27, 20267,014
Oct 26, 20267,137
Oct 25, 20268,087
Oct 24, 20268,179
Oct 23, 20267,721
Oct 22, 20268,146
Oct 21, 20266,542
Oct 20, 20266,669
Oct 19, 20266,718
Oct 18, 20267,252
Oct 17, 20266,961
Oct 16, 20266,360
Oct 15, 20266,442
Oct 14, 20266,914
Oct 13, 20267,207
Oct 12, 20267,676
Oct 11, 20268,008
Oct 10, 20267,547
Oct 9, 20267,266
Oct 8, 20267,323
Oct 7, 20267,342
Oct 6, 20267,532
Oct 5, 20268,075
Oct 4, 20268,601
Oct 3, 20268,195
Oct 2, 20267,355
Oct 1, 20267,674
Sep 30, 20266,948
Sep 29, 20267,545
Sep 28, 20266,599
Sep 27, 20267,049
Sep 26, 20266,920
Sep 25, 20266,434
Sep 24, 20266,352
Sep 23, 20264,912
Sep 23, 20266,552
Sep 22, 20266,699
Sep 21, 20269,110

Screenshots and trailer

The Elder Scrolls® Online screenshot 1

The Elder Scrolls® Online system requirements

Minimum: Direct X 11.0 compliant w…, 4 GB RAM, 150 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run The Elder Scrolls® Online?

Tell us your graphics card once and every game page will answer this for you.

Set up my PC →

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

Does The Elder Scrolls® Online have co-op or multiplayer?

Yes: co-op online; PvP online; MMO. There is no single-player mode.

Does The Elder Scrolls® Online run on Steam Deck?

Verified Yes, Verified by Valve: it works on Steam Deck out of the box.

  • 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

PC version details

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+
Languages
Full audio: English, French, German, Japanese. Text only: Russian, Spanish - Spain, Simplified Chinese.

Does The Elder Scrolls® Online use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Nov 6, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

Tags

Recent updates

6 DLC available.

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