This weekend, The Elder Scrolls Online is having a free-to-play event across all platforms. While players will still have to wait to get Elder Scrolls 6, they can scratch that Elder Scrolls itch by doing a little bit of play Online.
The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMORPG that loosely ties in to the other games of the series. It has chapters that explore some familiar locations and lore in more depth than the originals, like Skyrim and Morrowind. Originally released in 2014, Online had mixed reviews until a series of revamps and expansions made it much more playable and popular. While there are still some improvements that The Elder Scrolls Online could use, it's a game worth checking out for the free weekend at least.
The free-to-play event for Elder Scrolls Online is going on now until December 9th, 2020 at 10AM Eastern Standard. It's free across all platforms, including PC, Mac, Stadia, Xbox One, and even PlayStation 4 (in spite of Microsoft buying Bethesda), although the free-to-play event is limited to certain locations for Stadia players. Players will be able to access the base game as well as 500 ESO premium currency, called Crowns, for first-time players.
In order to participate in the free-to-play weekend on Stadia, players will have to sign up for Stadia Pro, which is currently giving away a free month trial. So while non-Stadia Pro members can't get the The Elder Scrolls Online free-to-play weekend, they still have a way to sign up and try it out. Stadia Pro is normally $9.99 a month, and it comes some free games to play. But it can be cancelled after the free trial if players just want it to try out the ESO weekend. Also, the Stadia free trial weekend seems to be limited to certain territories and locations, though the excluded ones were not explicitly mentioned.
Also, those who participate in the free-to-play weekend will also have a chance to purchase The Elder Scrolls Online for 60% off. The sale ends at different times for each of the platforms. PC, Mac, and Xbox users can get the discount until December 9th, Stadia until December 10th, and PlayStation users will have the discount until December 22nd.
This isn't the first time that The Elder Scrolls Online has offered a free-to-play event, but anyone interested in the game should at least give a try this time around. Especially if that 60% off coupon will make the ESO more affordable as a gift for the holiday season coming up.
The Elder Scrolls Online is available for Mac, PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
Source: MMORPG