The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood Announced

Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Online Studios announced the latest major expansion for MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online. The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood forms the main “Chapter” of the year-long Gates of Oblivion event.

The Gates of Oblivion event centres around Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon’s schemes 800 years prior to the events of The Elder Scolls IV: Oblivion. The first part, Flames of Ambition, will launch for PC, Mac, and Google Stadia on March 8, 2021, and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 16, 2021. Flames of Ambition includes two new dungeons, The Cauldron and Black Drake Villa, that set up the events of Blackwood and see players joined by NPC characters Eveli Sharp-Arrow and Lyranth.

Blackwood will launch for PC, Mac, and Google Stadia on June 1, 2021, and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on June 8, 2021. It will include the new Blackwood zone and a new main storyline with roughly 30 hours of story content. It will also introduce the game’s new Companions system, where players can recruit and travel with an NPC ally with their own story and character. Players are able to level up their companion’s skills and equip them with customisable equipment and behaviour. Blackwood will also add a new 12-player Trial — Rockgrove — as well as new world events, dungeons, world bosses, quests, and quality-of-life improvements.

Following the launch of Blackwood, Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Online Studios will release two additional pieces of DLC for the Gates of Oblivion event. A dungeon pack will release sometime in Q3 2021, with a story zone to follow in Q4 2021. Blackwood will be available in a standard edition and a Collector’s Edition, with the latter including additional in-game items. Both editions will be available as standalone upgrades containing just the expansion, as well as collection bundles that also include the base game plus all previous expansions.