New ‘Elder Scrolls Online’ Content Pass Introduces Much-Needed Changes

The Elder Scrolls Online celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024. That’s a huge milestone for any online-only live game these days. Even though it isn’t cross-play, you can play Elder Scrolls Online on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5 with each platform occupying its own server branch, which is a pretty wide range of platforms. And now, after years of the exact same update cycle like clockwork, Bethesda is finally shaking things up for its Elder Scrolls MMO with a new Content Pass structure.

I’ve been waiting for some sort of big change to hit the world of Tamriel for quite some time. And even though a sweeping change to how you release new content isn’t exactly what I had in mind, it’s still a big enough revamp to turn my head.

Up until now, ESO had a very predictable cadence. You’d get two new dungeons, then a large premium expansion pack usually with a new zone and other content, followed by two more dungeons, and then the year would cap off with a smaller content release to bridge the gap to the next year. It was a good format, but it just got very tedious and it felt like you were being nickel and dimed constantly.

What happened for me is that everything started to feel the same. It was a never-ending treadmill of content that had the same cadence, tone, and general vibe in such a way that the entire game felt like constant revisions on itself without anything truly new being added.

Over the years some updates would inject something exciting and different, like when they added the companion system, but it’s been a while since ESO really intrigued me with something fresh. Hopefully the Content Pass structure will change that.

Content Pass In Elder Scrolls Online

Conceptually, this new format should offer similar levels of depth and breadth, but will spread things out a bit more evenly across the year as a whole with a single upfront purchase.

For starters, the first big two-part storyline kicking off in June is called Cult of the Wyrm. It’s actually a direct sequel to the original game’s base storyline—which is pretty interesting for an MMO that’s mostly been focused on side stories and lore expansion for a decade. This is particularly exciting for hardcore Elder Scrolls fans because it brings back Molag Bal as the main villain and sends players to a never-before-seen region south of the main continent called the Isle of Solstice.

The most appealing part of this, for me, is how it’s expected to conclude at the end of the season. The second phase of the Culty of the Wyrm storyline will task players across the entire server to collaborate on constructing a powerful weapon to destroy the barrier surrounding the new island region. Once completed, it will totally transform the zone and continue the main storyline once more.

I love sweeping, game-changing events like this in MMOs because it’s a uniquely live game feature that you have to experience firsthand when it happens. I’m reminded of World of Warcraft’s Cataclysm, or when Lion’s Arch in Guild Wars 2 was destroyed during the Living Story.

Another one of the more exciting new features is Cyrodiil Champions, a massive-scale PvP mode that will introduce balanced matchmaking to help level the playing field. Taking notes from their past successes, the team at ZeniMax Online is aiming to revamp and overhaul early game zones and the new player tutorial as well.

Finally, and perhaps most interesting from a gameplay-wide perspective, Elder Scrolls Online will also be getting a new subclass feature that kicks in at the soft level cap of 50. This will enable characters to unlock skills from non-primary classes, unlocking up to 3,000 different combinations in total. That should really help differentiate playstyles and introduce a ton of new build variety.

All in all, the Content Pass for Elder Scrolls Online will include the new two-part Cult of the Wyrm storyline and world-scale co-op event, two new dungeon packs, and the brand-new zone to explore.