The Blackwood chapter for The Elder Scrolls Online is coming to a close with the arrival of the Deadlands content update in the fourth quarter of 2021. The Elder Scrolls Online is notable for its year-long expansions that take players through a complete story with time-gated content updates. Blackwood is the fifth major chapter for ESO, following 2020's Greymoor and 2019's Elsweyr, and players are beginning to wonder what is next for the sprawling, story-centric MMO. While nothing is confirmed, there are plenty of well-founded theories.
2021 was a big year for The Elder Scrolls Online. The Console Enhanced Edition updated the game for modern systems, the Champion Point system was revamped early in the year, and Blackwood introduced the Companion system and brought Oblivion Portals back to Tamriel – at least throughout the chapter's new zones. In an interview with Game Rant, Zenimax Online Studios Creative Director Rich Lambert revealed what little information he could about what's to come next for ESO in 2022.
When asked plainly if he could tell Game Rant anything about upcoming content in 2022, Lambert said it will be "something nobody is expecting" and responded with a rhetorical question: what happens when the map is filled? He then went on to say that "Oblivion is nearly infinite in size and scope," which could hint at a continuation of the Gates of Oblivion storyline that began with the release of Blackwood. While Lambert did not give any concrete answers as to the setting or story for the next major ESO chapter, his comments hint at a variety of possibilities.
The Elder Scrolls Online is a notable MMO for combining the worlds of several mainline Elder Scrolls games into one cohesive experience. Players can travel to fully-fleshed-out versions of Daggerfall, Morrowind, Cyrodiil, and Skyrim set hundreds of years before the mainline series. As time has gone on, the map of Tamriel has become significantly filled in with few areas left to explore. Much of Skyrim, Hammerfell, Cyrodiil, Elsweyr, and Black Marsh remain unrevealed in the MMO's vast map, though nearly every major area of Tamriel is explorable in some capacity.
While nothing is confirmed, Lambert's comments open up several popular theories as to what is happening next. The most popular of these theories (and one that has been present since the outset of ESO) is that players will be able to travel to Akavir. Dedicated Elder Scrolls fans know that Tamriel isn't the only continent on Nirn, and the snake-like Akaviri play an important role in the game's early storyline.
There is also a vast portion of Morrowind that isn't seen in-game: the areas controlled by House Telvanni on the Eastern side of the province. Additionally, ESO players have yet to see several of the planes of Oblivion, such as Azura's beautiful Moonshadow or Hermaeus Mora's endless Apocrypha. It is likely that an official announcement will be made in January 2022, following precedents set by chapter announcements in previous years.
"We have filled up the map over the years, and we will continue to do that in the future," Lambert said. "I know exactly where we're going. I'm just not going to tell you."
The Elder Scrolls Online is available for PC/Mac, PlayStation 4 and 5, Stadia, and Xbox One and Series X|S.