Elder Scrolls Online Is Ditching Chapters In Favor Of More Frequent "Bite-Sized" Updates

The Elder Scrolls Online will see big changes to its content roadmap next year, as developer ZeniMax Online has announced it will be ditching its yearly Chapter-based model in favor of smaller, more frequent seasonal content updates in 2025.

In a blog post, ZeniMax Online Studio director Matt Firor explained the reasoning behind why it's "shaking things up." Since 2017, new Chapter releases (ESO's versions of expansions) have come yearly, including this year's Gold Road chapter. That annual model has been "incredibly successful," according to Firor. The massive updates introduced new zones, quests, dungeons, followers, and more. They normally released in June, and much of ESO's schedule was planned around these major content releases, but because of the strict release schedule, didn't allow the team much time for experimentation.

Moving forward, ESO will instead adopt a seasonal model, with seasons slated to last anywhere from three to six months. Seasonal updates will include new story content, dungeons, and events. Next year will be a "transition year" for the team, Firor said, and some of the larger updates the team has been working on will still be released alongside the game's new seasonal updates.