The Elder Scrolls Online (2014)

Elder Scrolls, but everyone's invited

The Elder Scrolls Online launched in 2014 as the series' first genuine MMO, set roughly a thousand years before Skyrim during the Interregnum, a period when three alliances fight for control of an empty Imperial throne. It was a rocky launch, criticized at the time for feeling more like a generic MMO than a true Elder Scrolls game, but the years since have turned it into one of the most content-dense entries in the entire series.

How much of Tamriel is actually in it

This is where ESO genuinely stands apart. Through nearly a decade of expansions, the game has added full versions of Morrowind, Elsweyr, Summerset, High Isle, and more, letting players walk through provinces the single-player games have only ever described in books and dialogue. For lore fans specifically, ESO is arguably the single richest resource in the franchise.

Is it pay to win, or just a subscription game?

ESO uses a buy-to-play model for the base game with an optional subscription (ESO Plus) that grants access to all DLC zones and some convenience perks. It's not pay to win in the traditional sense, since gear power isn't directly purchasable, but new players should know upfront that most of the map requires either the subscription or individual expansion purchases to access.

Should you play it today?

If you want a single-player-feeling story campaign, ESO can actually deliver that too, its main questlines are built to be soloable. If you want to raid dungeons and PvP with friends, it supports that as well. The learning curve around what to buy and where to start is real, but for players willing to sort through it, ESO offers by far the most hours of Elder Scrolls content of any entry in the series.