Best I can tell, it’s been a good three or four years since I last paid attention to The Elder Scrolls Online. My personal heyday with it was admittedly short, from 2019-2020, but as I had a lot of time on my hands during one of those years, I managed to rack up a decent number of hours exploring Tamriel’s vast expanse as a warden (solo), sorcerer (also solo), and dragonknight (multiplayer) on the PlayStation. As the 2020s progressed, ESO fell off my plate. I dipped back into the game briefly few years ago as a templar but didn’t get very far in her adventures before something new came along to distract. At that time, starting over in ESO seemed so very daunting, almost impossible. Not only was there plenty of free content to conquer, but so many, many, many expansions lied in wait. The mere thought of leveling felt a bit overwhelming, to say the least.

Time passed, but ESO remained there in my peripherals. More DLC came along, and the game got bigger, and bigger. Sometime in late 2025, I caught wind of rumors that were circling about “big changes” that were coming to ESO, and I started paying attention again. And then, at the turn of 2026, those “big changes” were announced.

Seasons were coming! Dailies! Events! Battlepass! Currency!

It would be everyone’s favorite ESO refreshed and reignited with updates to everything from gameplay to performance. Well, that didn’t sound so bad. In my mind, it sounded like ZeniMax was attempting to align ESO more closely with current MMO expectations. The game’s 2026 roadmap suggested that much. Again, not a bad thing, but would any of it really matter? I mean matter to suuuuuper causal players like me who were more interested in story and leveling than raids and endgames?

The whole change-up piqued my interest enough, because the only way I was going to find out was to start over; and this time on the Xbox, where my multiplayer household spends most of its time these days. But, before going all-in after the Update 49, the big one, dropped in March, I decided to check in with my folks over on the PlayStation. They were still there, hanging out quietly. Upon loading up my warden, I was greeted with a plethora of new information about new systems, new rewards, and, of course, all the new things in the game’s shop. I’ll admit that I breezed past most of it, because what I really wanted to know is if my warden’s abilities had been changed. Even with my fuzzy memory, they all looked intact. I jumped into the helpful “Hero’s Return” quest and received a decent gift as a reward. All in all, ESO felt…good.

With new ESO goals in mind, I turned my attention to the Xbox to create a character for my new adventures. This would be a multiplayer character, one with either healing and tanking abilities to compliment my other half’s preference for being a damage-dealing sorcerer. Unsure what route to take, I created two characters, a templar and a dragonknight, the latter of which had received a major overhaul with the new update. But then I remembered that the game had new class to try – the arcanist. It’s not a free class, unfortunately; but, since I had some extra crowns to spare, I headed into the game’s shop to make the purchase. As of writing with my arcanist sitting at level 12, I’m really liking it! This class with rune-based abilities has a ton of power behind it. I’ve had no trouble melting mobs or battling tough enemies. That said, the jury’s out on me using my arcanist long-term in our group. I’ve been leveling up my other characters concurrently and will admit that I’m also really enjoying the dragonknight rework. Turning that character into an unstoppable tank is awfully appealing.

We were certainly not the only ones to take notice of ESO’s refresh. Indeed, there are a lot of players playing this game! Based on my highly unscientific observation, anyway. Years ago, I recall that while the game’s main hubs were always teeming with players, once you got out into the general wilds, the player count was sparser. Then, while casually questing, I could count the number of players I came across on one, maybe two hands. Now, in just our starting zone alone, we were joined by dozens of players tackling the low-level main quests. Maybe they were brand new to the game, maybe they were alts, or maybe they were returning players like us. Whatever may have been the case, ESO’s “revival” appears to be in full swing.

Whether or not my return to ESO sticks in a meaningful way remains to be seen. However, I’ve been reminded that the game is a good time. It has its drawbacks — stiff, janky combat is still a thing, as it is across Elder Scrolls games — but its structure, storytelling, and low-stress approach to exploration are top-notch. Even if none of my new folks enter into the realm of champion points and deep dungeon delves, I’m happy ESO is back in the rotation for now.

Lede image ©ZeniMax Online Studios.