The Elder Scrolls: Valenwood Officially Announced

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Art of a Valenwood Sentry from The Elder Scrolls.

Published Oct 22, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

The Elder Scrolls has been in dire need of a new entry for over a decade at this point, and Bethesda has seemed cautiously reticent to offer one. While The Elder Scrolls Online has done wonders for the IP, delivering impressive updates and massive expansions to keep its rather large player base busy and excited, the lack of single-player Elder Scrolls offerings is disappointing, to say the least. Of course, there is the upcoming TES 6, but it still feels like a lifetime away, even though it was announced eight years ago.

Fortunately, there is one new Elder Scrolls project in the works that fans can look forward to. Valenwood, the latest release in the Elder Scrolls series, is a brand-new, expansive experience designed to immerse players in the largely under-explored region of the same name. Joining a handful of other new Elder Scrolls games in 2026, Valenwood certainly looks to be one of the bigger offerings, although it does come with a slight caveat.

Valenwood is an upcoming expansion for one of the best Elder Scrolls board games, Betrayal of the Second Era. The base game was released back in April 2025 and has since become a go-to experience for those searching for a true successor to Skyrim. Delivering a narratively ambitious tabletop experience that covers the entirety of Tamriel, BotSE is a massive, quest-filled experience that sees players progress through a three-stage campaign all while gathering equipment, leveling up, battling monsters, and more. It's ostensibly an Elder Scrolls video game distilled into a faster-paced tabletop game.

Valenwood is building upon the foundations established by the critically acclaimed base game with a whole new region. Set, naturally, in Valenwood, the latest expansion for Betrayal of the Second Era introduces a new chain of quests, region-specific enemies, delves, overland cards, and, most importantly, classes and skill lines. The Arcanist, Burglar, and Ranger classes are a brand-new addition to BotSE and exclusive to the Valenwood expansion, as are the Illusion, Legerdemain, and Light Armor skill lines.

The box for the Elder Scrolls Valenwood expansion.

It's a massive expansion and one that will almost certainly prove popular among Betrayal of the Second Era fans. You will need the base game in order to play Valenwood, but if you don't already have it and are a big Elder Scrolls fan, then it's an easy recommendation. The base game truly is the closest we've gotten to a new Elder Scrolls experience that, while expensive, is cheaper than some of the other tabletop alternatives. Valenwood is available for pre-order, although it has already sold out on the official Chip Theory Games website.

The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era - Valenwood is scheduled to launch on November 30, 2026. There isn't long then (certainly less time than before we get TES 6) before it drops, although enough to grab a copy of BotSE and start getting immersed in its wonderful rendition of Tamriel. Of course, if it isn't for you, then there are plenty of other Elder Scrolls tabletop experiences or fan-made mods that completely transform past Elder Scrolls games to get invested in.

Created by Vijay Lakshman, Ted Peterson, Julian Lefay

Cast Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, Michael Gambon, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Lynda Carter, Wes Johnson

Character(s) The Vestige, Dragonborn, Nerevarine, Hero of Kvatch, Champion of Cyrodiil, Mannimarco, Sheogorath, Mehrunes Dagon, Vivec, Almalexia, Sotha Sil, Dagoth Ur, Talos, Alduin, Molag Bal

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