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The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset is here

Summerset Isles

Update, May 21: The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset is now live.

The Summerset expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online has launched in Early Access, and while the official launch is June 5 for consoles all the game’s new features are available to PC and Mac players today – including the Summerset Isle, which players can travel to for the first time since 1994’s The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the game that launched the series.

The expansion rolled out alongside the game’s Update 18, which includes various improvements to Elder Scrolls Online such as Crown Store gifting, daily rewards, combat tweaks, and moving the 4x4x4 Battlegrounds arena mode to the base game – it was previously exclusive to the game’s last expansion, Morrowind.

Bethesda sent out ‘Save the Dates’ for this year’s E3, which could mean the next Elder Scrolls game.

Aside from the new locations, the expansion allows players to join the elusive Psijic Order of mages, learn the new profession Jewelcrafting, or journey to Summerset’s highest city of Cloudrest to undertake a new 12-player trial. Golly. You can check out all the details on Summerset and Update 18 right here.

If you already own The Elder Scrolls Online, the expansion costs $29.99 / £19.99, or together with the base game it costs $39.99 / £29.99.

Update, April 18:New gameplay trailer gives us a tour of Summerset Isle.

Bethesda have released a new video which takes us on a tour of the beautiful and mysterious Summerset Isle.

Original story, March 21: The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset will take you to the home of the High Elves.

A new chapter for The Elder Scrolls Online will take Zenimax’s MMO to the home of the High Elves. The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset is the next major update to the RPG.

Summerset Isle hasn’t featured in an Elder Scrolls game since before I was born, back in 1994’s The Elder Scrolls: Arena. The snooty High Elves, or Altmer, have largely kept to themselves on the island, but now Queen Ayrenn has opened its shores to foreigners, to help combat a Daedric threat looming over the Elves’ home.

The new update will of course mean a new zone. Summerset is the largest addition to the game ever, even bigger than last year’s huge Vvardenfell update. It’ll also continue the story, concluding the Daedric line that began back in 2015.

On top of the new story and zone, the Summerset update comes with a selection of new features. It’ll offer the first chance to join the mages of the Psijic Order, offering a new set of combat skills and the ability to manipulate time itself. There are also new group PvE challenges, with the new 12-player Cloudrest Trial.

If you want to visit Tamriel, now’s a good time to start. A free week, running until March 27, begins today, allowing new players to play the base game for free. To get access, head to the game’s Free Play page. The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset launches June 5.