During the recent 2025 ESO Direct livestream, The Elder Scrolls Online team unveiled an exciting year of adventures, stories, and improvements. This included the new 2025 Content Pass and Premium Edition, the Seasons of the Worm Cult zone and storyline, a unique kind of in-game event, and base-game additions. Want to know more? ESO’s Game Director Rich Lambert and Executive Producer Susan Kath are here to expand a little on what was revealed during the big show.
A sequel 10 years in the making
“For this year, we knew we wanted a story that celebrated 10 years of the game being live,” says Lambert. “We’ve always been interested in doing a sequel to the original launch game and figured this was the perfect opportunity. As we started in on the process, one piece of player feedback kept coming up—players wanted something different. So, we took that to heart this year.”
Because of this feedback, the Seasons of the Worm Cult continues ESO’s base game story and returns Tamriel original bad guys to the fore: the Order of the Black Worm.
In addition to the returning foe and storyline, Seasons of the Worm Cult introduces Solstice, a new zone divided by an arcane barrier known as the Writhing Wall. The wall itself is the focus of a new in-game event in Q3/4, which will take place between Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 and 2 and open the way to the second half of the zone and the conclusion of the larger storyline.
“This is a new server-wide event—the shattering of the Writhing Wall—that will see players’ collaborative actions determine the outcome of the conflict,” explains Kath. “Solstice and the wall are all part of the 2025 Content Pass, but if you don’t have access and still want to help in the war effort, there will be special activities that everyone can participate in from mainland Tamriel as well.”
Introducing 2025 Content Pass and 2025 Premium Edition
Also announced during the ESO Direct was the 2025 Content Pass and 2025 Premium Edition. For the first time in the game’s history, you can acquire an entire year of adventures in one.
“We’ve talked recently about our plans to move away from the yearly Chapter release model, and this year is where we’ll start that evolution,” says Kath. “In the past, because of the lead time and resources necessary to create Chapters, it’s been difficult to allocate time to experimental updates, because we had to have every little detail planned far in advance.”
Now, the team has more flexibility to introduce emergent content such as the recent Cyrodiil Champions test, which saw players help the development team collect valuable PvP data and feedback on a unique Alliance War campaign.
The 2025 Content Pass (and Premium Edition) includes a ton of adventures and challenges for you to discover, including Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 and 2 (zone and storyline), two dungeon packs, and access to the Writhing Wall event—everything coming in 2025 in one.
“Another benefit for players this year is that it means there’s always something exciting around the corner, rather than a big release in June that you can play through and then find you’re waiting a year for the next big release,” explains Kath. “With all that in mind, this year is a transition year for us, and you’ll see even more changes coming in 2026.”
Big base-game additions
In addition to all the new adventures, the Update 46 base-game patch introduces a host of free updates for all ESO players, including the powerful Subclassing system.
“Subclassing is something I’m very excited about,” says Lambert. “It gives you even more freedom and flexibility in how you play your character, without having to reroll a new one and lose all the time and progress you have put in over the years.”
A major shakeup to the way you manage your character builds, Subclassing allows you to replace two different class skill lines to create your ideal hybrid playstyle.
Arriving alongside Subclassing is the new Hero’s Return system—helping you get back into the game after a prolonged absence.
“With all of these changes, we want to make it as easy as possible for past players to hop back in and check it all out, and that’s at the core of Hero’s Return, updating tutorials, and refreshing the early game zones,” says Kath. “We’re also looking to the ESO community for more insight and feedback into what they really want us to be working on next.”
Your pass for adventure
Big changes are on the horizon for The Elder Scrolls Online, and the above are just some of the new adventures and changes coming in 2025.
Don’t forget, you can purchase the 2025 Content Pass or Premium Edition right now on the PlayStation Store and get immediate access to the Fallen Banners dungeon pack, with the Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 arriving June 18 on PS5 and PS4—we’ll see you in Tamriel!
