New dungeon pack not for sale, 'ESO+ only' for a limited time. (updated again 07/03)

Alinhbo_Tyaka · January 14

The change is not pay to win. It is however a major change to the buy to play, rent if you want model that ESO has been using for most of its life. ZOS didn't make a definitive statement on how this will work but it appears they are moving away from B2P to a pay for access model or a hybrid of preferred access and a later B2P. Neither of which are conducive to retaining players as both result in a separation of the ESO+ and DLC purchaser player bases who can group together while content is current today. That won't be the case in the future if they are split.

spartaxoxo · January 14

rrbreezy wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

rrbreezy wrote: »

FeedbackOnly wrote: »

Silaf wrote: »

Zos long time ago promised they would support both subscription and buy to play models.
People invested in the game beliving in it.

I thought eso was better than this. There's better ways to make money instead of pay to win model

This is “pay to win”?

I can see the argument since crowns were allowed to be traded for coin.

If everything is pay to win, then nothing is pay to win. I refer you to, e.g., Diablo Immortal. This isn’t comparable, nor is it an instance of “pay to win.”

MMORPGs have introduced new content for decades, and experimenting with content delivery models is par for the course. Attempting to include “extra value” in their optional subscription is, if not exactly consumer friendly, then certainly not predatory.

It used to be there was a free (for the individual) method for gaining that power and now there is not. I don't necessarily agree with it being p2w since you still have to play the game to get that power. But it's also creating a new payment hard line that did not exist before.

ETA
So it's most certainly right on that line. That this change was only announced in a way that many will not notice it means that people are buying crowns to purchase that dlc as they always have. And that is absolutely not consumer friendly whatsoever. It's borderline as well. I do not like how this being handled at all. This should have been part of the announcement.

sans-culottes · January 14

spartaxoxo wrote: »

rrbreezy wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

rrbreezy wrote: »

FeedbackOnly wrote: »

Silaf wrote: »

Zos long time ago promised they would support both subscription and buy to play models.
People invested in the game beliving in it.

I thought eso was better than this. There's better ways to make money instead of pay to win model

This is “pay to win”?

I can see the argument since crowns were allowed to be traded for coin.

If everything is pay to win, then nothing is pay to win. I refer you to, e.g., Diablo Immortal. This isn’t comparable, nor is it an instance of “pay to win.”

MMORPGs have introduced new content for decades, and experimenting with content delivery models is par for the course. Attempting to include “extra value” in their optional subscription is, if not exactly consumer friendly, then certainly not predatory.

It used to be there was a free (for the individual) method for gaining that power and now there is not. I don't necessarily agree with it being p2w since you still have to play the game to get that power. But it's also creating a new payment hard line that did not exist before.

ETA
So it's most certainly right on that line. That this change was only announced in a way that many will not notice it means that people are buying crowns to purchase that dlc as they always have. And that is absolutely not consumer friendly whatsoever. It's borderline as well. I do not like how this being handled at all. This should have been part of the announcement.

It’d be interesting if ZOS took a page from Blizzard and introduced something like an “ESO Token.” I wonder if that would alleviate some players’ concerns?

licenturion · January 14

rrbreezy wrote: »

It’d be interesting if ZOS took a page from Blizzard and introduced something like an “ESO Token.” I wonder if that would alleviate some players’ concerns?

We already have ESO tokens and they are called crowns. There is no need to introduce another currency after the 15 we already have (crowns, gold, gems, endeavours, tickets etc)

AllenaNightWood · January 14

it does also say at launch

sans-culottes · January 14

licenturion wrote: »

rrbreezy wrote: »

It’d be interesting if ZOS took a page from Blizzard and introduced something like an “ESO Token.” I wonder if that would alleviate some players’ concerns?

We already have ESO tokens and they are called crowns. There is no need to introduce another currency after the 15 we already have (crowns, gold, gems, endeavours, tickets etc)

But the fact that Kevin hasn't clarified yet (I tagged him twice) why this new DLC blog post is the opposite of what all the other ESO-pages are saying, I already can conclude one thing: very bad things are coming...

Yeah, that’s not the same thing. Mind you, they could always just add “buy ESO+ with Crowns.” Not sure if this is worth getting aggrieved over, though. Assuming “very bad things are coming” because they want subscribers is your prerogative. However, jumping to conclusions and lashing out are both rarely helpful.

Elvenheart · January 14

licenturion wrote: »

…The general sentiment remains negative and I hope this backfires spectacularly.

Wow. 🤯

sans-culottes · January 14

Elvenheart wrote: »

licenturion wrote: »

…The general sentiment remains negative and I hope this backfires spectacularly.

Wow. 🤯

Right? This would be a net loss to all players, were it to “fail.” Wanting something you ostensibly like to “fail” doesn’t make a lot of sense.

As an aside, while I recognize that hyperbolic language is par for the course on Internet forums, I tend to find it unpersuasive and unhelpful.

Soarora · January 14

On the P2W discussion, the exact argument applies to trials but fails there. No one says a Chapter being a real money purchase for the first year is P2W even though meta sets are often in the trial. This change is displeasing, but not for a P2W reason. There’s plenty of good reasons that this is a bad decision without grasping at straws.

Its an accessibility to the content, buy to have, and community division issue.

sans-culottes · January 14

Soarora wrote: »

On the P2W discussion, the exact argument applies to trials but fails there. No one says a Chapter being a real money purchase for the first year is P2W even though meta sets are often in the trial. This change is displeasing, but not for a P2W reason. There’s plenty of good reasons that this is a bad decision without grasping at straws.

Its an accessibility to the content, buy to have, and community division issue.

Well said. “Pay to win” gets thrown around a lot, but it’s important to understand what the terms we are using actually mean.

spartaxoxo · January 14

Soarora wrote: »

On the P2W discussion, the exact argument applies to trials but fails there. No one says a Chapter being a real money purchase for the first year is P2W even though meta sets are often in the trial. This change is displeasing, but not for a P2W reason. There’s plenty of good reasons that this is a bad decision without grasping at straws.

Its an accessibility to the content, buy to have, and community division issue.

That's why I don't agree it's P2W. But I do think there's a difference between something never available for coin and something suddenly being folded into a sub after such a long time. So, I think it's a bit borderline. I don't blame people for seeing it that way, for sure.

colossalvoids · January 14

Whilst it's not a p2w situation yet people's perception is what matters over the facts here. If enough people think so or just agree that it's a bad system that's a crucial point. People see it as an issue, they want a change to occur.

licenturion · January 14

rrbreezy wrote: »

Elvenheart wrote: »

licenturion wrote: »

…The general sentiment remains negative and I hope this backfires spectacularly.

Wow. 🤯

Right? This would be a net loss to all players, were it to “fail.” Wanting something you ostensibly like to “fail” doesn’t make a lot of sense.

As an aside, while I recognize that hyperbolic language is par for the course on Internet forums, I tend to find it unpersuasive and unhelpful.

What I meant with fail is the dividing of community and the push for subscriptions by withholding content. Not the content itself.

Also if it fails, that just means the majority of players didn’t open their wallet and they have to switch strategy again. Also if the games narrative switches to ‘you have to have a subscription for the latest content’, this will keep a lot or potential new players away. I for sure would never even looked at ESO if a subscription was mandatory to play the latest content.

I have never been negative of this game and fairly quiet over here over the years. Even with all the nerfs, changes, patch and performance issues and even the loss of the Q4 zone DLC. I didn’t like everything but it was fine. But this latest blog post has really irked me the wrong way.

Soraka · January 14

Another example of under communication on ZOS's end. People fighting and theorizing and trying to guess the full what and why and how long of this, which would be completely unnecessary if we got more than a couple vague sentences about major changes. People can't even agree on what they're disagreeing on because we all have to speculate what ZOS means.

I sub and preorder DLC. I don't even play dungeons hardly at all. I like the pre-order goodies and I don't like the idea that I'm missing something if I decide not to sub. That being said, I think there's a lot of valid concerns here and a lot of different gameplay experiences and preferences. Even if it's not an issue for me I see how it is an issue.

Perhaps if the issue is profit loss from "double dipping" DLC purchases with subscription crowns, it would be better tackled by creating a limit to gifting or buying DLCs with those crowns? Not to imply that's super fair either, but just an idea.

Side note soapbox: Please remember and keep this energy about ZOS's patterns before starting to discredit and invalidate others' worries when it comes to things like PvP or other modes you don't engage in, and not say we should totally believe our feedback will be listened to and considered. There's a reason people stress out.

tomofhyrule · January 14

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Soarora · January 14

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

That is good to hear as at least we have been noticed but also falls in line with the assumption we have had this whole time that it will be available later. The problem is when. If it's within the same month then yeah fine whatever just can't get world first or day 1 but with scheduling that's not often possible anyways but if its 3 months later then the hype's pretty dead and guides are out by then. I am at least glad to be heard out though, so, far less frustrated about it for the time being.

Ph1p · January 14

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Credit where credit is due: This is a positive development out of this whole mess, and it’s good that we got an official clarification after less than a week.

Still, looking back I can’t help but wonder:

Why not just communicate clearly instead of risking a negative reaction? I can guarantee you that I would have been more curious and positive about the April reveal, for example, than I am now.
What’s even the point of giving subscribers a 2-week exclusivity period that makes almost no difference to them, except that they still may not be able to play with all their friends at launch?
If the engagement on this topic here and elsewhere had been different, where would we be now? In that vein - and to end on a positive note - thank you to everyone who took part in the discussion, regardless of your stance on the matter!

sarahthes · January 14

Ph1p wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Credit where credit is due: This is a positive development out of this whole mess, and it’s good that we got an official clarification after less than a week.

Still, looking back I can’t help but wonder:
Why not just communicate clearly instead of risking a negative reaction? I can guarantee you that I would have been more curious and positive about the April reveal, for example, than I am now.

What’s even the point of giving subscribers a 2-week exclusivity period that makes almost no difference to them, except that they still may not be able to play with all their friends at launch?

If the engagement on this topic here and elsewhere had been different, where would we be now? In that vein - and to end on a positive note - thank you to everyone who took part in the discussion, regardless of your stance on the matter!

It's possibly a technical limitation of the crown store, or something to do with their agreements with Microsoft and Sony.

Clarification would be nice.

Soarora · January 14

Ph1p wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Credit where credit is due: This is a positive development out of this whole mess, and it’s good that we got an official clarification after less than a week.

Still, looking back I can’t help but wonder:
Why not just communicate clearly instead of risking a negative reaction? I can guarantee you that I would have been more curious and positive about the April reveal, for example, than I am now.

What’s even the point of giving subscribers a 2-week exclusivity period that makes almost no difference to them, except that they still may not be able to play with all their friends at launch?

If the engagement on this topic here and elsewhere had been different, where would we be now? In that vein - and to end on a positive note - thank you to everyone who took part in the discussion, regardless of your stance on the matter!

Thing is, saying after doesn't mean that it's during the console launch. The original language in the preview post said that the dungeons will not be available to purchase for crowns at launch, not that it will not be available to purchase in general. So, it feels like the same thing with different words. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see what after means.

But yes, credit where credit is due, this is a great development in communication, even if it doesn't really give us much more information to work with /genuine.

Soarora · January 15

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/67411
The news post has been updated to say they'll be available shortly after the console launch, so disregard my last two comments about not knowing when they're coming out haha.

spartaxoxo · January 15

Soarora wrote: »

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/67411
The news post has been updated to say they'll be available shortly after the console launch, so disregard my last two comments about not knowing when they're coming out haha.

That's good news but now I'm curious about 2026. Hmm. Guess we'll have to wait until April to know.

licenturion · January 15

Good that they clarified this. Also good that stuff will keep being for sale with crowns for all the people that are averse to subscriptions. From their wording this DLC seems to be an exception to the rule.

Thanks everyone for participating in this discussion. I hope the fact that this subject has been a hot topic on multiple platforms has send a signal to ZOS that a switch to an exclusive early access subscription model is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. The fact that they reacted with a separate official pinned post is a very good sign that we (the people who like to buy stuff with crowns) have been heard. Now lets wait for April to see what is next...

Maitsukas · January 15

licenturion wrote: »

Good that they clarified this. Also good that stuff will keep being for sale with crowns for all the people that are averse to subscriptions. From their wording this DLC seems to be an exception to the rule.

Thanks everyone for participating in this discussion. I hope the fact that this subject has been a hot topic on multiple platforms has send a signal to ZOS that a switch to an exclusive early access subscription model is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. The fact that they reacted with a separate official pinned post is a very good sign that we (the people who like to buy stuff with crowns) have been heard. Now lets wait for April to see what is next...

I'd suggest you change the title of your thread to clarify this change as well.

Danikat · January 15

I'm glad they changed their minds. I'm still concerned that it sounds like this is the model they plan to use in future, which means all the problems raised in this thread are going to come up, just with later DLCs, but at least we'll get more notice before it happens.

sarahthes wrote: »

Ph1p wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Credit where credit is due: This is a positive development out of this whole mess, and it’s good that we got an official clarification after less than a week.

Still, looking back I can’t help but wonder:
Why not just communicate clearly instead of risking a negative reaction? I can guarantee you that I would have been more curious and positive about the April reveal, for example, than I am now.

What’s even the point of giving subscribers a 2-week exclusivity period that makes almost no difference to them, except that they still may not be able to play with all their friends at launch?

If the engagement on this topic here and elsewhere had been different, where would we be now? In that vein - and to end on a positive note - thank you to everyone who took part in the discussion, regardless of your stance on the matter!

It's possibly a technical limitation of the crown store, or something to do with their agreements with Microsoft and Sony.

Clarification would be nice.

If that is the reason then it's a new change, because until now PC players have always been able to buy the DLC as soon as it's released on PC, we haven't needed to wait for the console release.

XSTRONG · January 15

Danikat wrote: »

I'm glad they changed their minds. I'm still concerned that it sounds like this is the model they plan to use in future, which means all the problems raised in this thread are going to come up, just with later DLCs, but at least we'll get more notice before it happens.

sarahthes wrote: »

Ph1p wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Credit where credit is due: This is a positive development out of this whole mess, and it’s good that we got an official clarification after less than a week.

Still, looking back I can’t help but wonder:
Why not just communicate clearly instead of risking a negative reaction? I can guarantee you that I would have been more curious and positive about the April reveal, for example, than I am now.

What’s even the point of giving subscribers a 2-week exclusivity period that makes almost no difference to them, except that they still may not be able to play with all their friends at launch?

If the engagement on this topic here and elsewhere had been different, where would we be now? In that vein - and to end on a positive note - thank you to everyone who took part in the discussion, regardless of your stance on the matter!

It's possibly a technical limitation of the crown store, or something to do with their agreements with Microsoft and Sony.

Clarification would be nice.

If that is the reason then it's a new change, because until now PC players have always been able to buy the DLC as soon as it's released on PC, we haven't needed to wait for the console release.

Welcome to the world of Eso Console players, we are getting every update and new chapters two weeks after PC and this is the only game I know of that do this.

Im really hoping they wont continue this, how fun would it be to start the new seasons two weeks after they are released? Lol

licenturion · January 15

Maitsukas wrote: »

licenturion wrote: »

Good that they clarified this. Also good that stuff will keep being for sale with crowns for all the people that are averse to subscriptions. From their wording this DLC seems to be an exception to the rule.

Thanks everyone for participating in this discussion. I hope the fact that this subject has been a hot topic on multiple platforms has send a signal to ZOS that a switch to an exclusive early access subscription model is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. The fact that they reacted with a separate official pinned post is a very good sign that we (the people who like to buy stuff with crowns) have been heard. Now lets wait for April to see what is next...

I'd suggest you change the title of your thread to clarify this change as well.

Good suggestion. I did slightly modify the title (because it is still not day 1 without ESO+) and also added extra info with the changes and a link to it.

Are you the one from the YouTube ESO music channel? Love that one!

Danikat · January 15

XSTRONG wrote: »

Danikat wrote: »

I'm glad they changed their minds. I'm still concerned that it sounds like this is the model they plan to use in future, which means all the problems raised in this thread are going to come up, just with later DLCs, but at least we'll get more notice before it happens.

sarahthes wrote: »

Ph1p wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Credit where credit is due: This is a positive development out of this whole mess, and it’s good that we got an official clarification after less than a week.

Still, looking back I can’t help but wonder:
Why not just communicate clearly instead of risking a negative reaction? I can guarantee you that I would have been more curious and positive about the April reveal, for example, than I am now.

What’s even the point of giving subscribers a 2-week exclusivity period that makes almost no difference to them, except that they still may not be able to play with all their friends at launch?

If the engagement on this topic here and elsewhere had been different, where would we be now? In that vein - and to end on a positive note - thank you to everyone who took part in the discussion, regardless of your stance on the matter!

It's possibly a technical limitation of the crown store, or something to do with their agreements with Microsoft and Sony.

Clarification would be nice.

If that is the reason then it's a new change, because until now PC players have always been able to buy the DLC as soon as it's released on PC, we haven't needed to wait for the console release.

Welcome to the world of Eso Console players, we are getting every update and new chapters two weeks after PC and this is the only game I know of that do this.

Im really hoping they wont continue this, how fun would it be to start the new seasons two weeks after they are released? Lol

I think what happens is when an update is ready they submit it for console certification (which takes 2 weeks) and release it immediately on PC because there's no certification process there.

I think other games hold back the PC version until the console versions are certified so they can release them all together.

I don't have any strong feelings on that, there's pros and cons to both schedules, but it seems odd that the only people getting a 'delayed' release on this DLC are PC players who want to buy it instead of subscribe, because console players will be able to buy it as soon as it's released for them.

Its still a big improvement over their previous plan, and it sounds like it will only affect this 1 DLC but it's still odd.

Alinhbo_Tyaka · January 15

Danikat wrote: »

XSTRONG wrote: »

Danikat wrote: »

I'm glad they changed their minds. I'm still concerned that it sounds like this is the model they plan to use in future, which means all the problems raised in this thread are going to come up, just with later DLCs, but at least we'll get more notice before it happens.

sarahthes wrote: »

Ph1p wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Credit where credit is due: This is a positive development out of this whole mess, and it’s good that we got an official clarification after less than a week.

Still, looking back I can’t help but wonder:
Why not just communicate clearly instead of risking a negative reaction? I can guarantee you that I would have been more curious and positive about the April reveal, for example, than I am now.

What’s even the point of giving subscribers a 2-week exclusivity period that makes almost no difference to them, except that they still may not be able to play with all their friends at launch?

If the engagement on this topic here and elsewhere had been different, where would we be now? In that vein - and to end on a positive note - thank you to everyone who took part in the discussion, regardless of your stance on the matter!

It's possibly a technical limitation of the crown store, or something to do with their agreements with Microsoft and Sony.

Clarification would be nice.

If that is the reason then it's a new change, because until now PC players have always been able to buy the DLC as soon as it's released on PC, we haven't needed to wait for the console release.

Welcome to the world of Eso Console players, we are getting every update and new chapters two weeks after PC and this is the only game I know of that do this.

Im really hoping they wont continue this, how fun would it be to start the new seasons two weeks after they are released? Lol

I think what happens is when an update is ready they submit it for console certification (which takes 2 weeks) and release it immediately on PC because there's no certification process there.

I think other games hold back the PC version until the console versions are certified so they can release them all together.

I don't have any strong feelings on that, there's pros and cons to both schedules, but it seems odd that the only people getting a 'delayed' release on this DLC are PC players who want to buy it instead of subscribe, because console players will be able to buy it as soon as it's released for them.

Its still a big improvement over their previous plan, and it sounds like it will only affect this 1 DLC but it's still odd.

I've been thinking along the same lines. While we have a somewhat definitive timeline of purchase availability it still divides ESO+ and purchase players on PC such that friends or guilds will need to decide whether to wait for all players to be able to access the DLC or leave the purchasing players behind.

With all of ZOS's talk about no more firm schedules it might be time to hold any PC release back until consoles can be released. It would resolve the problem of dividing the PC player base. Another thing it would help is not spoiling the new release for consoles. If I played on consoles I'd certainly consider the new release to be somewhat of a letdown with everything having been exposed on the PC side for a few weeks beforehand. I'd posit that waiting until consoles release wouldn't affect overall revenue as the players who subscribe for new content and cancel will continue to do so, those who buy the new Crown Store item still will and regular ESO+ subscribers will stay subscribes regardless. I don't really see a down side other than maybe we PC players will need to learn a little patience when it comes to content releases.

Juomuuri · January 15

I'm glad it's only 2 weeks wait! Very much a positive thing, I can still buy the dungeons for my friend.

virtus753 · January 15

Alinhbo_Tyaka wrote: »

Danikat wrote: »

XSTRONG wrote: »

Danikat wrote: »

I'm glad they changed their minds. I'm still concerned that it sounds like this is the model they plan to use in future, which means all the problems raised in this thread are going to come up, just with later DLCs, but at least we'll get more notice before it happens.

sarahthes wrote: »

Ph1p wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Matt just posted a letter talking about the purchasing scheme of the new dungeons, and does confirm that they will be purchaseable with Crowns "after Update 45 console launch."

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/672037/u45-purchasing-clarification-recent-network-attacks#latest

Credit where credit is due: This is a positive development out of this whole mess, and it’s good that we got an official clarification after less than a week.

Still, looking back I can’t help but wonder:
Why not just communicate clearly instead of risking a negative reaction? I can guarantee you that I would have been more curious and positive about the April reveal, for example, than I am now.

What’s even the point of giving subscribers a 2-week exclusivity period that makes almost no difference to them, except that they still may not be able to play with all their friends at launch?

If the engagement on this topic here and elsewhere had been different, where would we be now? In that vein - and to end on a positive note - thank you to everyone who took part in the discussion, regardless of your stance on the matter!

It's possibly a technical limitation of the crown store, or something to do with their agreements with Microsoft and Sony.

Clarification would be nice.

If that is the reason then it's a new change, because until now PC players have always been able to buy the DLC as soon as it's released on PC, we haven't needed to wait for the console release.

Welcome to the world of Eso Console players, we are getting every update and new chapters two weeks after PC and this is the only game I know of that do this.

Im really hoping they wont continue this, how fun would it be to start the new seasons two weeks after they are released? Lol

I think what happens is when an update is ready they submit it for console certification (which takes 2 weeks) and release it immediately on PC because there's no certification process there.

I think other games hold back the PC version until the console versions are certified so they can release them all together.

I don't have any strong feelings on that, there's pros and cons to both schedules, but it seems odd that the only people getting a 'delayed' release on this DLC are PC players who want to buy it instead of subscribe, because console players will be able to buy it as soon as it's released for them.

Its still a big improvement over their previous plan, and it sounds like it will only affect this 1 DLC but it's still odd.

I've been thinking along the same lines. While we have a somewhat definitive timeline of purchase availability it still divides ESO+ and purchase players on PC such that friends or guilds will need to decide whether to wait for all players to be able to access the DLC or leave the purchasing players behind.

With all of ZOS's talk about no more firm schedules it might be time to hold any PC release back until consoles can be released. It would resolve the problem of dividing the PC player base. Another thing it would help is not spoiling the new release for consoles. If I played on consoles I'd certainly consider the new release to be somewhat of a letdown with everything having been exposed on the PC side for a few weeks beforehand. I'd posit that waiting until consoles release wouldn't affect overall revenue as the players who subscribe for new content and cancel will continue to do so, those who buy the new Crown Store item still will and regular ESO+ subscribers will stay subscribes regardless. I don't really see a down side other than maybe we PC players will need to learn a little patience when it comes to content releases.

Things are currently spoiled in that sense on all platforms already by being accessible on PTS weeks ahead of PC release. Quite a few of the people putting together guides are starting there, whether it’s dungeons/trials/arenas or events. Unless they stop putting things on PTS that won’t change.

ZOS also does benefit (and this trickles down to us) from an earlier PC release in that they have some idea of what to expect for console release, which happens in a more regulated environment. If it happens at PC launch, they can begin putting plans in place to deal with it on console as well. In some cases this has even meant that console gets some fixes earlier than PC did (counting from date of release), or they may never even see the issue if it can be handled before launch. I know I’d certainly want to have some idea of how launch will go and what issues might be expected as either a dev or a player.