Skyrim Fans Losing It Over Official New Expansion

A new official expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online is teasing Skyrim fans who are not only delighted at an opportunity to return to the beloved region – the setting for The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim – but also what it could mean for the future of the franchise. Just recently, Bethesda confirmed a new Skyrim expansion for ESO in 2027, revealing that the MMORPG players will have the opportunity to return to the northern reaches of Tamriel.

Fans have shown themselves delighted with the prospect of returning to Skyrim. As seen in the comment section of a Reddit post made by user HatingGeoffry, which highlights an FRVR report about the confirmed expansion, players are speculating which part of the nation will be featured in the upcoming DLC. Given the fact that The Elder Scrolls Online already has a few Skyrim-centered expansions, it’s easier to guess what will be added next.

We’re Officially Headed Back To Skyrim

ESO Returns To Skyrim In 2027

Bethesda did not reveal too many straightforward details about the return to Skyrim in the ESO expansion, but it did mention that we’d explore an “iconic” region that has never before been explored in the MMORPG. The company also said that players will have access to “some of the oldest, most wintery regions of Tamriel,” which will overlap with parts of Skyrim.

Considering that the expansions in The Elder Scrolls Online allow us to visit The Reach, The Rift, Hjaalmarch, Haafinger, and Eastmarch – and, technically, Falkreath, via a dungeon –, this leaves us with Winterhold, Whiterun, and The Pale.

Taking into consideration what was said and the options that remain, the most likely guess here is Winterhold. Not only is it home to some of the oldest and most important locations, like Saarthal and Ysgramor’s Tomb, home to the 500 Companions of Skyrim, but it is also the most wintery portion of the nation.

This suspicion is echoed by some of the Reddit users, too. Of course, Bethesda could actually combine all the remaining regions into a single pack, possibly calling it Central Skyrim, and featuring Winterhold, Whiterun, and The Pale, as well as iconic locations like the Throat of the World. For now, however, we’ll have to wait.

The MMORPG’s Expansion Will Likely Not Influence The Next Core Game

A landscape shot from The Elder Scrolls 6 teaser trailer.

The announcement of a new Skyrim-centered ESO expansion has raised hopes for the release of The Elder Scrolls 6, as is seen in a comment left by 04nc1n9 on Reddit. They don’t provide any context as to why they believe that, but they are hopeful. The fact is that the ESO expansion will likely have no impact whatsoever on the next big core game in the series.

First off, it’s expected that the setting for The Elder Scrolls 6 will be Hammerfell or High Rock, meaning it has no relation to Skyrim other than a shared border. Furthermore, the MMORPG is developed by ZeniMax Online Studios, whereas the next core title is crafted by Bethesda Game Studios. Sure, they are still part of the same larger gaming studio and publisher, but the teams are different and do not influence each other in the way some players think.

Overall, it’s very unlikely that the new expansion to the MMORPG will influence the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls 6 in any way, at least for now. It’s been teased that the core game may still be a few years away, so if The Elder Scrolls Online will ever serve as a teaser or connecting point for the Elder Scrolls 6, it will likely be within a few years, and won’t do so via a Skyrim teaser.