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Re: Official Feedback Thread For 2026 ESO Reveal
As I want to give constructive criticism; one thing that came to my mind: The main problem that makes people disappointed or wary seems to be that the stream made it look like there will be not much new content this year. The presentation almost entirely focused on how to spend money and what to do with in-game currencies, and on a few quality of live or bugfix things, but there was basically nothing deeper on what's actually there to play. We only got very vague keywords (mostly on those charts which were only visible for a second so they were barely readable): some sea related event, some Sheogorath story, some Thieves Guild story. But that really can mean anything, including some tiny quest that's over in 15 minutes.
It would have helped a lot to actually tell us about these things. Something as simple as "The Sheogorath story will take place in zone X and will have Y hours of playable content." or "In lore we will explore the topic Z this year." would have already helped.
And if the content might not even be that different compared to other years, why not draw comparisons? Something like "Instead of the usual 4-person dungeons of Q1, we want to try one more open and bigger dungeon for spontaneous, unorganized groups of people instead this year", "The Q2 summer story content will take place in an updated base game zone this year" or something like that.
If the only thing spoken about in detail is how to spend real and virtual currency, it's not surprising many people will wonder what else there still is.
It would have helped a lot to actually tell us about these things. Something as simple as "The Sheogorath story will take place in zone X and will have Y hours of playable content." or "In lore we will explore the topic Z this year." would have already helped.
And if the content might not even be that different compared to other years, why not draw comparisons? Something like "Instead of the usual 4-person dungeons of Q1, we want to try one more open and bigger dungeon for spontaneous, unorganized groups of people instead this year", "The Q2 summer story content will take place in an updated base game zone this year" or something like that.
If the only thing spoken about in detail is how to spend real and virtual currency, it's not surprising many people will wonder what else there still is.
Syldras
4
Re: Do you think we'll get Winter Hold this year? đź‘€
ZOS said in yesterday's stream "What's up with Winterhold"
it could mean it is in development (i hope so), but could also mean they just used it as an example of someplace we might get in the future,
in which case they could have also said Whiterun, Torval, or Blacklight.
They also said this in that interview
Is there no new normal zone coming to Elder Scrolls Online in 2026?
Nick Giacomini: We're not quite ready to talk about that right now. There might be
So it's got me wondering!
Re: The game is very expensive. You are not only competition with MMOs but other genres as well.
At this point, there’s no way I can be disappointed by anything. ZOS already handled that. My motivation now is the same as Niki Giacomini’s.
Last'One
2
Re: Official Feedback Thread For 2026 ESO Reveal
Soooo, im not sure if im getting the battle pass thing correct, but basically the paid content that was included in eso plus after 12 months will now be a forced 12 month subscription to get it? Thats what it seems like it with that premium plus tier and the way eso plus works with it...
Re: ESO 3.0… This is Depressing
MincMincMinc wrote: »Splitting the monetization off of content and making it more as a standalone cosmetic unlock IMO is better.
I think the new monetization model has even become worse now.
Going forward they will also use now all monetization models know to gaming:
- buy the game
- buy DLC in the crown store (older zones + dungeons)
- buy cosmetics in the crown store
- buy a subscription for some exclusive features
- buy a premium battlepass and a premium+ battlepass for cosmetics
- buy crowns in pre-defined packs
- buy gambling lootboxes
- do weekly challenges to earn cosmetic currency with a limited amount of rerolls
Not mentioned yet but surely coming at some point (100 percent sure):
- buy battle pass tier skips with crowns
- buy extra rerolls for weekly challenges
- buy mini event passes like New Life pass, White Streak pass with a limited free version and Premium upgrade.
I play some F2P games that are more generous and have half of these monetization systems.
And for people say that we get all the content for free now. What actual new content is in the roadmap besides the trial? I saw no new dungeons, zones, delves, sets, etc.
I only saw lots of reimaging of old (remastered) content and new 'modes' announced. Also reverting 3 years of bad decisions isn't really a feature. It's great, but it should be side notes to the presentation and not dominating the narrative. I must be getting old because I heard the word 'rewards' 50 times in the stream. I am probably old but I don't play games for rewards. The reward should be great stories, engaging gameplay and an immersive world.
licenturion
15
Re: ESO 3.0… This is Depressing
MincMincMinc wrote: »Splitting the monetization off of content and making it more as a standalone cosmetic unlock IMO is better.
I can see your point, but it seems to be done out of necessity and not player benefit.
They are giving out new content for free because it is too thin (and recently bug-filled) to expect people to pay for moving forward.
Re: ESO 3.0… This is Depressing
Splitting the monetization off of content and making it more as a standalone cosmetic unlock IMO is better. Granted we shall see how it unfolds. IMO the more we see actual gameplay and combat split away the better.
Letting the dlc monetization dictate the direction and balance of combat has broken ESO's kneecaps too many times
- warden
- psijic
- necro
- mythics
- arcanist
- scribing
- monomyth
Feel free to name the power crept BIS proc set of each dlc release on your own.
Id rather pay 3x the subscription and gut out all the daily logins and quest chores. The point of playing a game is to play a game, not do the dishes for 3 hours before getting to do any real gameplay.
Letting the dlc monetization dictate the direction and balance of combat has broken ESO's kneecaps too many times
- warden
- psijic
- necro
- mythics
- arcanist
- scribing
- monomyth
Feel free to name the power crept BIS proc set of each dlc release on your own.
Id rather pay 3x the subscription and gut out all the daily logins and quest chores. The point of playing a game is to play a game, not do the dishes for 3 hours before getting to do any real gameplay.
Re: ESO 3.0… This is Depressing
Unfortunately this is exactly right. I can’t argue with any of it. As someone that’s played since beta I’m sad that it looks like the end has arrived.
I quit playing a couple of months ago and nothing in yesterday’s presentation makes me think I’ll be returning.
It looks like more fiddling with things nobody asked for in lieu of providing substantial new content.
I quit playing a couple of months ago and nothing in yesterday’s presentation makes me think I’ll be returning.
It looks like more fiddling with things nobody asked for in lieu of providing substantial new content.
Malprave
14
ESO 3.0… This is Depressing
Leadership has framed this update as the most significant transformation since One Tamriel… a moment often remembered as ESO’s de facto 2.0. If these changes are meant to signal an ESO 3.0, then they point not to renewal, but to a markedly diminished and sobering phase of the game’s life cycle.
Abandoning Expansions
Folding DLCs into the base game represents a concession strategy, not a growth strategy. Expansion sales no longer justify their production and marketing costs.
Increased Reliance on Legacy Content
Recycling legacy rewards is not an act of player-friendly generosity; it is asset amortization—extracting additional value from previously developed content.
Battle Pass as Revenue Smoothing
The removal of daily logins and Endeavors is particularly revealing. These systems existed to inflate daily active users. Replacing them with a Battle Pass signals that raw daily user metrics are no longer sufficient; ZOS now requires monetized engagement density rather than mere presence.
Pivot from New Content to System Reworks
Development focus has shifted away from large-scale content additions toward reworking existing systems, a hallmark of late-stage live service maintenance.
Quality-of-Life Monetization Rollback
This rollback is not altruistic. It is a churn-reduction tactic designed to remove friction for existing players while consolidating monetization into fewer, higher-conversion channels—primarily the Battle Pass and ESO+.
Eventization and FOMO Compression
Time-limited, cyclical events increase short-term engagement intensity but reduce the amount of permanent content, compressing player activity into predictable monetization windows.
Steam Charts as Corroborating Evidence
Steam Charts are not the primary metric, but they do corroborate the trend: a long-term decline in average and peak concurrent players, with no sustained population recovery even following major updates.
ESO is no longer structured as a game pursuing growth. It is structured as a product optimized for revenue stability from a shrinking but loyal player base.
Abandoning Expansions
Folding DLCs into the base game represents a concession strategy, not a growth strategy. Expansion sales no longer justify their production and marketing costs.
Increased Reliance on Legacy Content
Recycling legacy rewards is not an act of player-friendly generosity; it is asset amortization—extracting additional value from previously developed content.
Battle Pass as Revenue Smoothing
The removal of daily logins and Endeavors is particularly revealing. These systems existed to inflate daily active users. Replacing them with a Battle Pass signals that raw daily user metrics are no longer sufficient; ZOS now requires monetized engagement density rather than mere presence.
Pivot from New Content to System Reworks
Development focus has shifted away from large-scale content additions toward reworking existing systems, a hallmark of late-stage live service maintenance.
Quality-of-Life Monetization Rollback
This rollback is not altruistic. It is a churn-reduction tactic designed to remove friction for existing players while consolidating monetization into fewer, higher-conversion channels—primarily the Battle Pass and ESO+.
Eventization and FOMO Compression
Time-limited, cyclical events increase short-term engagement intensity but reduce the amount of permanent content, compressing player activity into predictable monetization windows.
Steam Charts as Corroborating Evidence
Steam Charts are not the primary metric, but they do corroborate the trend: a long-term decline in average and peak concurrent players, with no sustained population recovery even following major updates.
ESO is no longer structured as a game pursuing growth. It is structured as a product optimized for revenue stability from a shrinking but loyal player base.