General:2025 ESO Direct

2025 ESO Direct
Medium/Format	Online Interview
Date	April 10, 2025
Hosted By	Twitch, YouTube, eso.com
Previous	ESO 2024 Global Reveal

Global reveal for the Seasons of the Worm Cult (also known as the Worm Cult Saga) content.

Creating the Character

Sir Cadwell

Janet Priblo: Absolutely one of my favorite characters is Cadwell. And initially I felt like, okay, he's kind of one-note and comic relief.

Anthony Batu: Cadwell is such a goofball. He's got a cauldron on his head. He's got dishes on his chest.

Janet Priblo: When you meet up with him early on, he's singing a silly song.

Cadwell: "One fine day in the middle of the night, two dead kings got up to fight."

Janet Priblo: And I guess you would call him human. But he's soul shriven. And he kind of likes that. He likes his whole, like, setup you know. "I've been here forever. I know everything about Coldharbor." And so you kind of just get to like this goofball.

Cadwell: "I am Sir Cadwell the Undaunted, Knight of the Court of Coldharbour, Champion of Chivalry, Defender of the Defenseless, Shepherd to the Soul-Shriven."

John Cleese: Well my character is, I'm told, the comic relief in the game. Sir Cadwell, he's a kind of Don Quixote character. He loves to go on a quest and to try and help helpless maidens and all that kind of thing. And he loves fighting. But he never seems to be the slightest bit scared about it. He regards it as a great game. And if he is wounded, then he's incredibly brave about it, in a British sort of way.

Cadwell: "I don't want to brag, but I think I nicked one of them. Ha!"

Janet Priblo: We had heard that John Cleese was going to be voicing Cadwell. And then absolutely–and I know I'm not the only designer–but that certainly influenced some of the lines we initially drafted. Hardly a surprise a lot of gamers like Monty Python, so you know!

Cadwell: "Tell you what—I happen to know another way in! Much more of a scenic route. Rather a fun little jaunt, actually. Full of traps, and corpses, and nasty beasties…"

John Cleese: I like it when my character, Sir Cadwell, gets rather vague or confused. I like it when he says, you've been asked "Tell me about yourself Cadwell" and he says.

Cadwell: "I have the oddest feeling we've discussed this before. Or did I already mention that? No matter."

John Cleese: I like that kind of vagueness. I like playing that.

Cadwell: "My sword is yours, my boon companion! Together, we will protect the beautiful realm of Coldharbour, and perhaps even save that ugly rathole you call home. Victory, thy name is Cadwell!"

Janet Priblo: He's probably one of the most pure goofy kind of characters we have. But then, much later on in our development when we did Elsweyr, I was one of the main quest designers. And we got to show a lot more about Cadwell. He was a person. He was not a good person. He was a terrible person. He preferred being this silly soul shriven, quasi skeletal guy, wearing a pot on his head, singing silly songs. And being able to explore that kind of split in a character is really fun as a designer and as a storyteller.

Cadwell: "I came to this land when my head was quite unceremoniously separated from my body. Bad luck that, but you make the best of things."

Janet Priblo: Cadwell you know, he's soul shriven. Like he doesn't have a soul, he doesn't have a heart. And yet, he is going to fight the good fight. Even if that's, you know, tackling a skeever. I don't know! You know, he's like, he's willing to just throw himself in there, into the breach, again and again. In the best spirits possible! And that's wonderful to work with.

Cadwell: "What jolly good fun! I believe the next stop is the Labyrinth, old chum. Shall we toddle off?"

Abnur Tharn

Tom Murphy: One of my favorite ESO characters is Abnur Tharn. Because he has these goals and these plans, and he never gives up on them, even when the odds are stacked.

Alfred Molina: Well, Abnur Tharn is um–he's a very old wizard.

Bill Slavicsek: He is the Grand Chancellor of the Imperial Elder Council. And he's a battlemage without equal.

Alfred Molina: He's political. He's manipulative. He can be charming and ruthless. But hugely intelligent very much in control. He's all the things that the actor voicing him is not. Basically.

Abnur Tharn: "I assume my qualifications meet with your approval?"

Alfred Molina: He has a definite sense of humor, but it's more or less the kind of humor where he's basically deriding and sort of ridiculing others.

Abnur Tharn: "It's a simple process. A child of five could do it. Unfortunately, we don't have a child of five, so I'll be forced to walk you through it."

Bill Slavicsek: He has seen emperors come and go, but he's there to make sure the Empire is always surviving. He believes that it brings civilization to Tamriel. And without that civilization all you have is chaos.

Tom Murphy: Abnur is a character that often just looks at people and sees them as assets. As pieces on a board that he's moving around to various locations and trying to advance his own agendas. So when players start interacting with Abnur Tharn, he's just viewing them as another pawn; another piece he can move.

Abnur Tharn: "I expect nothing but your continued assistance, Vestige. However, I concede that your aid in recovering the relic was vital…"

Bill Slavicsek: i really loved writing Abnur's lines because, they are poetic and lyrical. And it was very cool experience knowing that I was going to get a great actor to perform these pretty complicated, but flavorful lines.

Abnur Tharn: "Ah, the distinctive smell of Daedric sorcery. It's as atrocious as it is pervasive."

Alfred Molina: All the lines that I've enjoyed, have always been the ones where he's being slightly kind of sarcastic. You know and he uses language in a very interesting and sort of passive aggressive way. I mean, I'm looking at a line right now…

Abnur Tharn: "Given your relative unimportance, you should be able to travel unmolested."

Alfred Molina: Now there's something really interesting about that structure. It's a very smart and funny way of actually putting someone down with a real kind, [like] he could have just said "Shut up you're not important." But you know "Given your relative unimportance." He likes language. You know, and he's not afraid to use it.

Bill Slavicsek: And he does. He uses it like a sword. It's just who he is. It's how he was able to survive a century of Imperial politics.

Abnur Tharn: "That's why we'll only use the weapon to get them to the negotiating table. Diplomacy works best when facilitated by a big stick."

Tom Murphy: He is so focused on his ambitions, and achieving his aims. He can think his way out of any dead end. And I think that lesser people would have quit. Right? They would have given up in the face of a rage of dragons. But Abnur Tharn would never do that.

Razum-dar

Anthony Batu: Hands down my favorite character is Razum-dar. Because, he's basically an action hero. He's a combination of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. And at the end of the day, if you're ever in a pinch, you know you can come to Raz and he'll save you.

Bobby Foster: The fit. The swag. The drip. The devil–may–care attitude. Yeah, he's that dude.

Michael Zenke: Raz knows that Raz is the coolest cat in the room, and he will tell you about it!

Janet Priblo: He's clever and he's funny. And you always sort of feel like, maybe he's one step ahead of most people.

Christopher Corey Smith: He's someone that if your cause is just, you want him on your side. He's also someone that, if your cause is maybe not quite so just, but is kind of fun, and there might be tankers of ale at the end, you also want him on your side.

Razum-dar: "Your home needs you now more than ever."

Michael Zenke: When we were originally making the game, I really wanted an opportunity to highlight a different side of the Khajiit, a different aspect of Khajiiti culture. And the Eyes of the Queen, as an extension of Queen Ayrenn and her rule, was something that we hadn't really explored very much at that point. Raz was an opportunity to do that.

Janet Priblo: He is very single-minded, very driven. He is an Eye of the Queen before anything else. For Queen and Country. And I think that kind of mixture of like, "I'm fun I'm cool to hang out with", versus, like "I will get done, what needs to get done", makes a great character.

Razum-dar: "Raz does not mind getting dirty. It is safe to say, blood looks good on Raz."

Michael Zenke: One thing I thought that was really interesting that was kind of unexpected is just how sexy Chris Smith's Razum-dar is. That was an element that we certainly touched on sometimes. But it wasn't something that featured pretty heavily. Chris is just such a natural talent, at bringing to life a character along that axis.

Bobby Foster: I'm so caught up in his accent! His accent is captivating! From the way his body language is, his accent, the way he talks. So anything he says is good.

Razum-dar: "Enjoy yourself, my friend! Raz certainly plans to."

Michael Zenke: It's a rare opportunity for a writer, to get to work with other people, and create something that ends up becoming, I'd say maybe beloved? Which is wonderful.

Anthony Batu: There's lots of fan art of him. There's lots of other creations like plushies and stuff.

Christopher Corey Smith: It's amazing to see the incredible amount of creativity that the fan base has. And that they choose to express that, and to utilize their talents to make something that includes Raz is very heartwarming. They're just phenomenal! I mean I've seen–I've seen some of them and, they just make me smile. Because I realize that this game and this character, has touched this person so significantly.

Anthony Batu: He adds a really light and airy tone to the otherwise dreary and sad story. And you know, at the end of the day, he becomes more than just you know some character, he becomes your brother.

Razum-dar: "This one is hoping we meet again. Until then, Bright Moons guide your steps."

[Shows the The Elder Scrolls Online - You Belong Here Trailer]

Introduction

^Who?: I love working at ZOS because I have the opportunity to work with others to share creative visions. I have been living in Tamriel for 10 years, but I've been working for ZOS for about three.

^Who?: Five years now.

^Who?: Eight years this month.

^Who?: 12.

^Who?: 15.

Brian Wheeler: 15 and 1/2.

Gina Bruno: 17 and 1/2 years.

^Who?: I've been here for so long I don't remember.

^Who?: The thing I love most about working here at ZeniMax Online Studios is the culture.

^Who?: I love the passion that all of my co-workers share.

^Who?: They've taught me so much

Brian Wheeler: It's incredible to work for people like that

^Who?: I came here as a gamer, loving games, and what I witnessed was actual wizardry.

^Who?: Seeing you know all the the people that have contributed to this game over the years it's unbelievable.

^Who?: what excites me about the future of ESO is that we are trying new things.

^Who?: I'm very excited about all the quests and story content that we have coming out. I think there's going to be a lots of fun surprises for players.

^Who?: We are building on this massive tapestry of stories that we've woven in different ways that we maybe haven't tried before.

^Who?: When I first started we were just kind of crammed into a side of an office building while everything was being built out. It's been great being able to kind of grow up, in a way, with a lot of people.

Gina Bruno: To see the studio go from just a few people to all the people that are in here now working on ESO, it is crazy to see how far we have come over the years.

Matt Firror: Welcome everyone to the 2025 Elder Scrolls Online Direct. I'm speaking to you today from ZeniMax Online Studios headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA. This year, we wanted to bring you into the studio where we've built and supported ESO since 2007 and where we will continue to deliver great content to all of you, whether you're a veteran player or joining us for the first time today. You just heard from a few ZOS developers about what makes them proud, what inspires them, and what excites them about the future of ESO. We're going to talk about this bright future, about the new and exciting content launching this year. We'll also go over some upcoming changes that I gave you a heads-up on in my annual community letter at the end of last year. The summary of that message is that, after a long and successful run, it's time to shake things up in ESO. To change the way we deliver content but more of a focus on testing and new ideas, and ensure the game remains fresh and modern for years into the future. We'll do all this by continuing what we've always done–listen to you, the community, on what works and what we need to do better.

A little over a year ago we began our celebration of 10 years of The Elder Scrolls Online. We had a lot of fun meeting you all at in-person events around the world. And of course, celebrated in-game as well. These events have been wonderful and gave us the chance to look back at where the game started and how it's evolved over the years. From a subscription only PC game, to a modern multiplatform virtual world enjoyed by over 26 million of you. ESO's success is amazing, but we never take it for granted. It took a lot of hard work over the last 10 years to get here, and we won't forget that.

Future of ESO

Matt Firror: Now let's talk about the future of ESO. The game is strong, the studio is committed, our community is amazing, and Tamriel is so packed with things to do that it really is the best fantasy virtual world out there. We have a great plan to keep it that way. At ZOS, we've always prided ourselves on how we innovate. We've pushed ourselves to redefine our virtual world several times over, and a decade in, this ambition remains strong. That's why, as some of you already know, we announced last year that we will no longer be launching annual chapters. Our first chapter, Morrowind, launched in 2017, and we've delivered a great Elder Scrolls story every year since then. We expanded the land mass, the stories, the adventures, the gameplay in Tamriel, and we've done so with a specific rhythm that you could count on. After eight successful chapters, we've heard your feedback about wanting more variety and to shake things up. We agree. We want to keep telling great stories but also mix in new ideas and gameplay systems, and that's exactly what we're going to do. But we'll do this in a different cadence, one that allows us, the developers, to broaden our focus and increase variety. Instead of a single yearly major release, we plan to spend more time delivering an assortment of new content and gameplay systems aimed at enhancing the base game, making everything better for new and returning players, and, above all, focusing on experimenting with new and different types of content. You may have already seen some of this in action: the newly revamped tutorial, the graphical upgrades to the starter islands, and of course the recent Cyrodiil champions experiment. We've done innovative work like introducing golden pursuits that gives you fun challenges for cool rewards, and we're going to keep addressing long-standing player feedback items. Like how combat looks and feels revamping the game's PC UI, refreshing the PC patcher, and even some new things that we know you'll love that will be announced in this show. We're very excited about all of this, as it gives us the ability to address long-standing player feedback. That's why ESO has such a bright future. The changes we're announcing today are a mix of old and new content styles as we transition away from chapters. We'll learn by experimenting by being more flexible as a development team. We'll make adjustments and we'll launch new content, but we will always work as hard as we can to keep Elder Scrolls Online fresh, fun, and memorable just like we've done for the last decade.

In a moment, I'll turn it over to Rich and Susan, along with other members of the ESO dev team, to share more details on this year and beyond. But before I do, one final thought: All of you who watched our trailer at last year's Xbox Game Showcase probably noticed that the trailer was something new. Instead of concentrating on a new chapter, or a new system, we talked about ESO as one big virtual world, and told the world that you belong in it along with that great song by Pat Benatar. This was exactly as we intended. ESO is so much more than the combat and flashy effects that we often show in our trailers. It's warm, playful, it's dark and light, challenging and fun, but most importantly, it's inhabited by you. You are welcome in Tamriel, and we all belong. This idea of "You Belong" will be the center of everything we do going forward. You'll see it reflected in videos, in art, and in other ways that we communicate with you. But it's always been part of the game itself since 2014. We're just going to make it a part of everything we do going forward. Welcome to the future of The Elder Scrolls Online You belong here.

What's New

Susan Kath: Okay Rich, we have got a lot to cover today. So where should we begin?

Rich Lambert: Well, even though I've known you for a good decade now, you're kind of a new face around here, so let's start with you introducing yourself.

Susan Kath: All right. Hello everyone. I am Susan Kath. I am the Executive Producer for The Elder Scrolls Online, and I am happy to be making my first ESO Direct appearance as part of this team. so, Rich, do you want to introduce yourself too?

Rich Lambert: Sure. I'm Rich Lambert. I'm the game director on ESO. Most of you know me, as I've been with ZOZ since the very beginning, and I'm still honored to be here today more than 17 years in.

Susan Kath: Change is a constant–not just here in the studio, but in the games industry overall. And as we sat down to think about the 10-year anniversary of The Elder Scrolls Online, and the future ahead of us, the need for innovation was something that we kept returning to.

Rich Lambert: To us, change applies equally to both new content and existing content. So in the name of change, let's start with one you've already seen tested: Cyrodiil Champions.

Cyrodiil Performance Updates

Carrie Day: Cyrodiil Champions is something really special as a way for us to truly experiment. Everyone is the same. Everyone uses the same abilities. No matter how long you've played the game, it is an opportunity to stretch and experience large-scale PvP.

Rich Lambert: For those not familiar with Cyrodiil in ESO, it is a massive zone for large-scale player-versus-player combat. It's the epicenter of the Alliance War where players compete for control of resources, keeps, and ultimately to be crowned emperor. PVP has always been a huge part of ESO and is one of the first areas we focused on to put our new plans into practice. Our goal is to get Cyrodiil back to having these epic-sized battles that we saw during early launch days, which was this fun, crazy experience for all players, without the performance problems that we have today. If you've been following along over the yearsm you'll know that we've been running many tests in Cyrodiil, and Champions is really just the next step in those tests.

Brian Wheeler: It's basically trying to get to the root of why we have experienced laggy conditions from time to time in Cyrodiil. We wanted to do a test that really got down to the nitty-gritty of what we believe is the issue.

Jason Barnes: ESO, when we first launched, being able to hop into a huge PVP battles, it was one of the best introductory experiences you could have in Elder Scrolls Online. So being able to visit this and figure out how to get back to those days, that's something I'm really looking forward to.

Hero’s Return Golden Pursuit

Susan Kath: If you're new to Tamriel or you're returning after a break, we've been polishing that experience this year. We've already updated our tutorial, and this summer, we'll be introducing new welcome back features to help you find your footing after a break.

Jason Barnes: Everyone knows if you set a game down for a little while and you try to come back to it months later, you're lost. It happens to the best of us.

Ellen Clarke: We have so many features built in since the day we started. This welcome back feature is going to help organize those in a way that players are less confused when they come back in.

Gina Bruno It's kind of like when there's a new season of your favorite show coming out and you need a little bit of a refresher, that's essentially what this feature is like.

Jason Barnes: Being able to really bring the player back in and slowly reintroduce them to the systems and reward them along the way for doing that is something I'm really looking forward to, and I hope a lot of players coming back really engage with the system and let us know what you think.

Starter Zones Revamp

Susan Kath: We've also sent in our talented team of artists and designers to polish up and refresh the world in our starting zones.

Lauren Kaiser: I'm really excited to run back around all those areas that I ran around when I was a newbie.

Gina Bruno: These areas look brighter and fresher. The water looks clearer.

Brian Wheeler: Back in the day we must have played those starter islands 10 or 15 times minimum. This refresh still makes that experience feel fresh again. So I'm probably going to make a new character and go back.

Seasons of the Worm Cult

Susan Kath: As you can see, we're looking at everything with fresh eyes, including the game's original storyline. In fact that's where we're going next—back to the beginning with a bold new story to tell.

[Shows the The Elder Scrolls Online - Return of the Worm Cult Trailer]

Susan Kath: Welcome to Seasons of the Worm Cult.

Brian Wheeler: Chef's kiss. I love that we are continuing stories that we started from way, way back in the day.

Jason Barnes: I was a part of the original design team that worked on some of the main quest stuff. This is a continuation of that story that's just kind of lingering and waiting for it to be picked back up again.

Ellen Clarke: It's bringing back elements of the base game story, but with a twist.

Rich Lambert: This is the sequel to the 2014 base game story line 10 years in the making. And whether you played the original story line or not, almost every Elder Scrolls fan is familiar with our OG big bad, Molag Bal. The Daedric Prince and his followers, the Worm Cult, stole your soul, and it was up to you to get it back and to stop Nirn from being sucked into his realm, Coldharbour. In 2025, the Worm Cult returns, seeking revenge. And you will travel to a brand new island, Solstice, where evil activity is surging. Why or how the Worm Cult returned is a mystery that you'll need to figure out. We hope you're up for the challenge.

Susan Kath: Rich how amazing is it to be able to push forward the very first storyline that you ever worked on here?

Rich Lambert: I'd be lying if I said I knew we'd be here 17 years after we started this thing, but it's a huge honor to be a part of such an amazing team.

Susan Kath: Most of our updates for this year will be part of Seasons of the Worm Cult, but they won't come out all at once, like we've done in the past with our chapters model. As the name implies, we'll be delivering on a seasonal cadence.

Rich Lambert: Throughout the year, Seasons of the Worm Cult will include a mix of theme story content, dungeons, and an in-game event that I cannot wait to fill everyone in on. The story begins in June, sending you to Solstice off the southern coast of Tamriel.

New Zone: Solstice

Michelle Graves: With Solstice we are kind of getting a chance to explore something that I really enjoy about ESO, which is digging into those nooks and crannies where the different cultures and myths and stories overlap.

Rich Lambert: Solstice has a very interesting history and visual style. It's home to a number of races, predominantly High Elf and Argonian. On the western side of the island it has this clear Caribbean vibe, with a bright and tropical aesthetic, giant shells, and tropical forests. As you explore the zone, you're going to stumble upon even more magical and fantastical environments. The main city in the area is called Sunport and is run by both the corelanya Elves and the Tideborn Argonians. It's this weird sounding mix, but as you learn more of the island, it's all going to make sense.

Gina Bruno: I don't hate Argonians. I feel like they're a little misunderstood.

Bobby Foster: I like Argonians, because I like the underdog. They get this connotation about them. So I'm like, "Let me show the Argonians some love."

^Who?: They are quirky. They are unique. They have a wonderful, rich lore. They have a great sense of humor.

^Who?: I mean, I personally love the fact that we're pulling our Argonians out of the swamp and into a tropical island.

^Who?: The main city of Solstice is Sunport, and it's a beautiful port city where Argonians and Elves have kind of worked together.

^Who?: The very first thing I noticed was the architecture. We had the big, sprawling, fantasy-like Altmer architecture that I have come to love from the base game and beyond, but it's built on top of this beautiful Argonian architecture. And my immediate thought was something has happened here, something a little sinister.

Jason Barnes: It's actually a combination of a lot of Argonian and Altmer who are outcasts from their various clans that have come here and established colonies. There's even some Nord stuff in the north, and a new type of Argonian architecture and tribe that we've never seen in our game, known as the Tideborn. On top of all that, we also have a bunch of fun stuff like a magical carnival where people go in and may not ever come out, and old Daedric ruins that will have little mysteries that we'll uncover, that'll lead further and further into the story as it unfolds throughout the year.

Susan Kath: A visit to Solstice isn't a tropical vacation.

Bobby Foster: Caribbean sun, ocean breeze, sandy beaches.

Gina Bruno: Greenery and flowers, and the water's nice and clear. But there's also all these things trying to kill you.

Bobby Foster: You have to have your sword and shield ready because it's about to go down.

Susan Kath: The Worm Cult have established a base on the island and are unsurprisingly up to no good. Cultists roam the land, harvesting the souls of the islanders for their nefarious goals. They're led by a new leader, Wormblood, who has some questionable ties and a plan to bring glory back to the Worm Cult.

Rich Lambert: When you first arrive on Solstice, you'll learn more about the Worm Cult, and ultimately lay siege to the city of Sunport to free it from their control. And this helps establish a base of operations for you and some of your allies for the rest of the story. These allies are going to be some of your favorite characters from the last 10 years of stories

Returning Characters

Jason Barnes: I am super excited for a bunch of the characters that are returning. These are all characters that we've been with since the beginning. Everyone knows Razam-dar. He's a fan favorite, everyone loves him. He's going to be back for our adventure. We also have Skordo, who is also another kind of rough–and–gruff best friend that's traveled with us throughout the years. Gabrielle, Vanus Galerion—just the whole kind of main crew, as many people that made sense to return that were involved in the main story line are coming back to go on this adventure with us.

Michelle Graves: I'm also excited to explore some characters that maybe didn't get a chance to shine in our earlier stories. Like we are bringing back Prince Azah in a key role, and I think it'll be a really good opportunity to build on his character.

Brian Wheeler: I've heard Raz is coming back, so I'm happy to talk to my favorite Khajiit. Outside of that, I don't want to spoil anything.

New Creature Types

Bobby Foster: I am so excited for people to come in, play the game, and see if they can beat my monster.

Jason Barnes: We get introduced to a bunch of new types of monsters in Solstice. We have some new types of Argonian behemoths that have these cool feathers all across their body. They use their tail and roll around a bunch to constantly try to crush the player. There's also these Stone Argonians, who are these guardians that have been reawakened over the years to protect the ruins. And then you also have these new types of Daedra that are these demonic-looking Satyr-like creatures that worship Molag Bal that you'll see here and there, but more will be unveiled as the year goes on.

New Trial: Ossein Cage

^Who?: In Update 46 we are releasing a new 12 person trial called Ossein Cage. Ossein Case is this gigantic vault in Coldharbor. This vault holds a powerful Daedric Relic. It absorbs pain and suffering and transforms that into power. Naturally Molag Bal's Daedra really want to get their hands on this thing. You as the player need to infiltrate the vault and destroy the Dolorous Cista before Molag Bal's Daedra can use it for their nefarious purposes.

Gina Bruno: The trial is going to be really cool. We have a lot of new things that the team is trying and some really exciting rewards.

^Who?: I know not everyone plays Dungeons and Trials, and a lot of players might be a little nervous to play Trials, but I really want to encourage everyone to just jump in. They're really fun, and players are really excited to teach new players the ropes.

New Feature: Subclassing

Rich Lambert: Finally we've got a few more things coming in June, and one that just might blow your mind, especially for our more combat-focused players. And that is Subclassing.

^Who?: Subclassing is a brand-new way we've decided to help players build to their player fantasy.

Rich Lambert: We've gotten a lot of feedback over the years about classes, balance, and especially class-change possibilities. We're excited to finally be able to deliver on that feedback. With Subclassing, you're going to be able to get much more freedom on how you build your character. Specifically, you're now going to be able to utilize skill lines from other classes, all without having to roll a brand-new character.

^Who? Once a player hits level 50, they unlock for their entire account the capability to add and remove skill lines from other classes that they see throughout Tamriel. If you created a character day one of launch and fallen in love with it, you can now experience classes like the Warden, Necromancer, and Arcanist. You can mix and match and swap those skill lines to build any combination. Before, we had seven possible classes to choose from, which you make in your character creation, and now there are over 3,000 different options of combinations for skill lines that exist in the world, and you can use it with your existing characters.

Jason Barnes: Now you can really dive into making a character expressing the way that you think they should play in the game and making it your own, and that's super important to us.

Brian Wheeler: I know a lot of people internally have talked about making an elementalist. Taking a little bit from Sorcerer, a little bit from DK, and just sort of blending in that the fire and the lightning and that kind of possibility is so exciting.

^Who? My goal with Subclassing is going to be to have, on screen, as many critters and companions as possible, and build myself a small army.

^Who? Subclassing is actually going to share all the work you've contributed account-wide for the first time ever. All your skills and progression is account-wide for subclassed abilities. And if you haven't played in alternate characters, we have methods to unlock skill lines that you may not personally have experienced. This is only scratching the surface for subclassing. Stay tuned for more.

The Writhing Wall and Eastern Solstice

Susan Kath: Our next content release arrives in late summer. We'll continue the Seasons of the Worm Cult story with our biggest ever initiative, aimed at bringing the entire community together with a single shared cause.

Rich Lambert: This is really cool and something we've always wanted to do, and it kind of gives new meaning to the phrase "hitting the wall" because there's literally a wall dividing the island of Solstice in two. And that's ground zero for this world-changing server-wide event

^Who?: The first time players see the Writing Wall, it's going to stand out. It is this massive conjuration constructed of raw souls that have been blended together into a soul-juice concrete, and it completely blocks off Eastern Solstice, where the Worm Cult is staging their invasion.

Jason Barnes: To be able to see all the players come together and tackle a challenge that we've never thrown at them before, and that's really going to need all the community behind it.

^Who? For the first time, we are going to be inviting all the players on a server to participate in a story together in real time. In the Writhing Wall event, the Fellowship of Stirk has joined forces to stop the Worm Cult invasion of Solstice— but they need players to help. Your activities will have real impacts, as you defend the siege camps, improve the camp defenses, and build a weapon that is capable of taking out the Writhing Wall.

Jason Barnes: Being able to see players contribute and fight against lots of nasty stuff coming their way, that's really going to change the world around them.

Rich Lambert: The goal will be to work together with fellow players to breach the wall from the west and gain access to the eastern half of Solstice. Your megaserver's collective effort and activity is really going to dictate how fast that server is going to progress through the phases, which ultimately means players are going to experience the epic final encounter and outcome of the event at different times.

Susan Kath: I wonder which server is going to get through first?

Rich Lambert: Of course the story doesn't end when you break through the wall. The second half of the Worm Cult Saga arrives in our final update of the year, which is in the fourth quarter. You'll head to Eastern Solstice, and while we don't want to spoil too much of what happens here, tropical paradise kind of comes to an end. This region's feel and vibe stands in stark contrast to the bright colors of the west. In the east you'll embark on a journey to unveil the source sustaining the worm cults seemingly limitless army. You'll need to forge new alliances with ancient peoples, and prepare for your final assault and climactic battle to defeat the Worm Cult threat and its soul-harnessing powers.

2025 Content Pass

Susan Kath: That's a lot of new content and new ways for you to be part of the ESO fam. We've also got a new way for you to jump in and play this year: the Content Pass, which for the first time, bundles together everything that we're releasing in the year. That means when content launches across any of our 2025 updates, you'll immediately own it, and you can enjoy it right away.

What's coming after Seasons of the Worm Cult

Susan Kath: So Rich we have covered a lot of ground today.

Rich Lambert: Yeah, and it's all been exciting and energizing stuff. That by the way kicks off today with the Seasons of the Worm Cult Prologue Quest that's available right now. As Matt promised, we're embracing change here at ZOS, and we'll continue to push ourselves to make incredible and entertaining experiences that also support our amazing ESO community.

Susan Kath: Future seasons in ESO may actually run as long as this year's, or they may be shorter, say 3 or 6 months each. We're also exploring a variety of themes for these, including what we call Remix Seasons, an approach to a season where we revisit storylines and regions and maybe we mix things up a little bit. Any hints you want to share on that Rich?

Rich Lambert: We know?

[Photo of the Dark Brotherhood's logo appears]

Susan Kath: Anyway we've got a lot more up our sleeves, including ways to get even closer with all of you in the community so that we can do even more things together.

Rich Lambert: In fact stick around for a post-show where we'll share more details on how you can join that conversation, interact directly with us, and have a real voice in the future of ESO.

Wrapping Up

Brian Wheeler: Elder Scrolls has been part of my life for almost 16 years now.

Gina Bruno: I'm lucky enough to be able to talk directly with our players in our community and hear so many touching stories about what our game has meant to them.

^Who? We are always talking about how you are the best community we could ever ask for.

^Who? One of my favorite memories was having the opportunity to bring together two players who found love in Tamriel and became a witness to their marriage here.

^Who? The players that continue to play ESO day in and day out, we love your passion, and we want you to keep being passionate with us, because we love the game, and we love that you love the game.

Jason Barnes: Thank you for engaging in this world that we get the joy and privilege of making.

Bobby Foster: This world—this universe that we created—still amazes me. And I'm just like "Oh wow, I did that."

Gina Bruno: It really means a lot to be able to be a part of something like this.

^Who? ESO means so much to me. Sorry I'm going to start getting emotional again.

Bobby Foster: Thank you to the ESO fans, to the players.

^Who? We are so lucky to have you.

Jason Barnes: Being able to draw upon 10 years of stories that we've done to kind of usher in a new era—it's going to be a really exciting time for the world of Tamriel and I hope everyone's ready. buckle up, because there's going to be a lot of twists and turns.

^Who? I'm most excited that adventures in Tamriel will never be the same.

Susan Kath: Over the last decade you've invested so much of yourselves in the world of Tamriel. You've explored and adventured. You've fallen in love, you've grown guilds and you've fought battles. You've decorated your home, or many homes. Tamriel is your world, as well as ours, and we'll continue to engage with you on how to make it even better.

Rich Lambert: We've built this together for over a decade now, and we're committed to a strong future together with you in the Elder Scrolls Online because you belong.

Matt Firror: From all of us here at ZOS. Thank you.

Room full of Developers: see you in Tamriel!

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