The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road will take players to the West Weald—a region on the border of Cyrodiil. The new zone is ruled by the Colovian Count Calantius, and is an independent nation allied with Cyrodiil’s Imperial forces.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road will be coming to PC on June 3, while PlayStation and Xbox players will have to wait until June 18 for the expansion.

Alongside Gold Road, Bethesda has also announced the new Scions of Ithelia dungeon DLC pack. The upcoming DLC, set for release on March 11 for PC players and March 26 for console players, continues where the story of Necrom left off, and will feature two new 4-player dungeons—Oathsworn Pit, and Bedlam Veil.

Sony has announced the games that will be joining the PlayStation Now lineup this month, and those games include some pretty big names. The Elder Scrolls Online, Bethesda and Zenimax’s MMORPG based on their hit franchise, is the biggest addition. It has already been made available on Game Pass, so it’s good to see Bethesda maintaining parity across PlayStation and Xbox here.

Other games joining the lineup this month are Sniper Elite 4, Rebellion’s newest entry in their World War 2 shooting series, Styx: Shards of Darkness, and Torment: Tides of Numenera. There’s still more games than that that you can play on PS Now now— you can see the full list below.

The best news here is that you will no longer be streaming these games. Sony announced a few days ago that PS Now games can now be downloaded and played locally on your console (unless they are PS3 games), so it’s basically the PlayStation equivalent of Game Pass. Download those games and have at it, folks.

• 100ft Robot Golf
• Asdivine Hearts
• Bound
• Bridge Constructor
• Carmageddon: Max Damage
• Ducati: 90th Anniversary
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• Sniper Elite 4
• Styx: Shards of Darkness
• Torment: Tides of Numenera

Bethesda is gearing up to launch the brand new Summerset themed expansion for its popular MMO, The Elder Scrolls Online. And now, to hype everyone up for that launch, they have released a brand new cinematic trailer for the expansion which, among other things, shows off the beauty of Summerset, as well as of the locales you will be visiting in this expansion (which makes sense, since the locales you will visit are going to be in Summerset too…)

If you like what you see, the good news is that Summerset is available now on PC and Mac in Early Access- but if you would rather wait for the final release, that’s fine too, and you don’t have long to wait, because the expansion will be launching on PC, Mac, PS4, and Xbox One on June 5 as the final release.

Meanwhile, you can always just rewind and rewatch this trailer for the expansion, over and over and over again…

When patch 2.5.0 launches for the console versions of The Elder Scrolls Online on August 16, it will be bringing with it a long requested feature that console players have been asking for for a while now- text chat.

The feature had originally been promised for the console versions of the game before they were even released, but was pulled at the last moment for some reasons- now, it appears as though Bethesda and Zenimax will be bringing it back after all, which is something console players who don’t want to voice chat but still want to communicate will probably appreciate.

The full list of changes in this new update follows:

• Console text chat
• Aetherian Archive and Hel Ra Citadel Trial improvements, including Normal and Veteran modes, revamped rewards, and level scaling
• Dragonstar Arena improvements, including increased monster difficulty and revamped rewards
• The ability to trade bind-on-pickup items to group members in dungeons and Trials
• The introduction of the Cyrodiil town capture system
• Champion Point cap increase
• Rebalancing and adjustments to Racial Passive abilities
• Improved Undaunted reward chests (Gold, Silver, and Bronze)
• Improved Clothier Surveys
• Improved face effects and animations
• New achievements for each of the scaled Trials
• Ability tooltip tags that display the primary role for certain abilities
• Ongoing Cyrodiil performance improvements
• Four new crafting styles: Akatosh, Dark Brotherhood, dro-m’Athra, and Minotaur

The full update will be 5.5GB. The Elder Scrolls Online is available now on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

ZeniMax Online Studios’ The Elder Scrolls Online has been faring pretty well in the past year with several DLC packs adding a good amount of content. The next one will be The Dark Brotherhood on Xbox One and PS4 but there’s an even more interesting update coming along called One Tamriel.

Have you ever wanted to just explore the world of ESO without worrying about level requirements or alliances? One Tamriel will offer that, removing any levels, quests or alliances restricting players from going wherever they want. Just finish the tutorial and you can pretty much head anywhere. We’re not sure how that works for balancing purposes but more details will likely be shared soon.

The Elder Scrolls Online’s Dark Brotherhood DLC will be out on June 14th for Xbox One and PS4 (it’s already available on PC). What are your thoughts on One Tamriel? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more updates from E3 in the coming hours.

ZeniMax Online have reportedly laid off as many as 300 people from their Galway office in Ireland. The Galway office was opened up primarily to provide customer support- but apparently, it was overstaffed for a game that has ultimately struggled to find its footing in a viciously competitive marketplace. Still, though, 300 people being shown the door all at once is a bit brutal.

Sources confirm that the layoffs took place several months ago, and that a dozen or so people have been kept on board, to keep things running- and that the office may expand again in the future, with a potential future release.

It sucks that all of these people had to lose their jobs, and here’s hoping that they can get back on their feet again as soon as possible. Being unemployed sucks. What are your thoughts on this matter? Let us know in the comments section below and stay tuned to GamingBolt for more news and updates.

ESO features a fairly robust character creation system, with a plethora of aesthetic options. On the flip side, if you’re just looking for a quick, decent looking character, the randomize button can adjust all these settings at once, on the fly.

There are nine distinct races that players can choose from, each with their own passive racial bonuses and abilities. One race may have an inherent boost to magic, while another may have a resistance to hostile spells. Like other Elder Scrolls games, these passive racial abilities are helpful, but since character progression can basically let you overcome any weakness, they aren’t nearly as important as in other role-playing franchises.

While having only four classes seems a bit limited, especially in comparison to other modern MMO’s, the character progression system is equipped to handle the missing workload offered by additional classes. Similar to most MMO’s, you complete quests and take down enemies to level up. The twist here is that any skill can be leveled up, the more you use it, in true Elder Scrolls fashion.

" Most of the quests you’ll run across are multilayered, requiring you to perform a series of objectives, this makes the quests seem more involved than simple fetch or kill quests."

In a sense, raising your skill levels is more important than upping your player level, as your skills can be improved or new skills can be unlocked only after meeting certain skill level prerequisites. There are also “ultimate” skills that function like finishing moves, allowing you to more easily take on large groups of foes or boss class monsters that have oodles of hit points.

For example, blocking with a shield and then swinging a sword will slowly increase your one handed and shield skill. Want to snipe enemies from a distance? No problem, just equip that maple bow you found on that skeleton archer, and start firing, and your bow skill will increase with every hit. Want to fry an enemy with some fireballs? No sweat. Just pick up that nifty fire staff and launch some burning goodness their way. Your destruction staff skill will increase, making you a better destruction staff user, no matter which class you are.

Presumably, in MMO terms, at face value, the four classes represent tank/healer, ranged damage, tank/melee, and ranged/melee damage, however roles in a group can be, (and frequently are) rotated on a regular basis.

Your main source of experience is completing quests. Most of the quests you’ll run across are multilayered, requiring you to perform a series of objectives, this makes the quests seem more involved than simple fetch or kill quests. In regards to character progression, it’s a far more methodical pacing than most MMO type games. This may be familiar to gamers who are experienced with the Elder Scrolls series but for those who prefer a faster paced game, in terms of progression, they may be put off.

You also get a skill point per level up. These can be placed into any skill line you prefer. Any class can basically place a skill point into any of their class skills, weapon skills, armor skills, or crafting skills, as well as faction only skills that can be found and joined throughout the game.

" Graphically, everything looks rather well done. In true Elder Scrolls style, almost every surface in and around towns have an intricate, well worn quality, as if wizened by age and the elements. "

Story quests become available every so often at specific levels and reveal more of the story, though the decision to do these is completely up to you, as you can make your way through the world without ever touching upon the main story, outside of the tutorial level, if you prefer.

While you’re out adventuring, you’ll invariably come across many staples of the Elder Scrolls, like monuments, which can be used to fast travel to zones you’ve visited previously.  The crafting system is about as in depth as any MMO out there, featuring a wide range of professions, materials and player created items.

Most crafting professions include skill lines as well, that you can improve with spare skill points, enabling you to be a better craftsman. Most of these come in the form of passive improvements to your crafting abilities, like small percentages increases or an improved ability to find raw materials.

Graphically, everything looks rather well done. In true Elder Scrolls style, almost every surface in and around towns have an intricate, well worn quality, as if wizened by age and the elements.

In terms of player interaction, social interaction in ESO is handled mostly though voice chat. Even without a compatible headset, there are on screen icons that enable you to manage group invitations and friend settings. A wealth of emojis can also be used from the menu, indicating if you’re taking a lunch break, need healing, or presumably, someone just stole your car.

From a psychological perspective, ESO presents a unique case. It features the addictive quality found in most MMOs, in regards to that reward based gameplay, however, whereas other MMOs dole out these incentives on a regular basis, ESO does so only incrementally.

" This creates a strange disconnect between the player and the world, almost as if you’re a wandering spirit, never truly part of the larger, living, breathing ecosystem."

As a result, as you travel the lush landscape of Tamriel, taking down enemies and completing quests, you become more powerful, but only just so. Even though you save towns and avenge restless spirits, and take down tyrannical leaders of hidden cults, none of it feels weighty or meaningful, as if you’re a member of the world, but ultimately detached. This extends to the game’s variety of dungeons too, which can be stumbled upon in the world or accessed via the dungeon finder. This creates a strange disconnect between the player and the world, almost as if you’re a wandering spirit, never truly part of the larger, living, breathing ecosystem.

Whereas the previous Elder Scrolls games let you make world-altering decisions and embark on seemingly epic quests, such as ridding the land of slavery, closing the doors to Oblivion, ESO seems content in its mediocrity. It’s formulaic to the point of being spectacularly unremarkable.

In the end, ESO is a bag of mixed messages. For every gorgeous landscape and picturesque vista, there is also tedium and meandering. For every multi-layered quest, rich in Tamrelian history and lore, there is the uneven pacing, and comparatively slow progression. For every in depth narrative found by obsessively searching bookshelves, there is the capricious dungeon raiding, sidelined by any rhyme or reason. ESO is at its best where it has always shined, as a rich single player experience, with a world steeped in myth and lore. Ultimately, that’s what ESO is, a rich single player experience, you just happen to be playing alongside other people.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Bethesda has come out and cleared the air regarding the upcoming console release of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited. There were some fears that you might have to authenticate your game with a CD key on the console, which isn’t all that bad, really, but still a pain and a departure from the norm when it comes to these machines, but they have confirmed that there is no such authentication process.

“The physical console version of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited does not require a one-time game code, as with any other boxed PS4 / Xbox One game only the game disc is needed for verification,” Bethesda said in a statement this afternoon. “Any previous statements counter to this were incorrect.”

This also means that you will be able top trade in your game, should you decide you’re not necessarily a fan of it. So don’t worry, go ahead and get the game without any fears about your subscriber rights, versus DRM.

Bethesda is trying to sweeten the pot as far as the console versions of its troubled but slowly recovering MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online, go. For any player who bought the PC or Mac version of The Elder Scrolls Online on or before June 30, 2014, you have from now until May 9 to visit ESO’s PC/Mac store and purchase the discounted version, which is officially called, I kid you not, “The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited for Console with account copy.”

Doing so will, as you may have guessed, let you have a copy of the MMO for your console at a very cheap price; it will also let you transfer all your progress from the PC or Mac version over to the console version, meaning you won’t have to sit through the unimaginably banal and trite opening hours of the game again. You can also continue to play on the PC after you have ‘transferred’ to consoles- the transfer is actually just the save file being copied over.

Everything will be copied over, except for the following:

• Crowns
• Mail
• Guilds
• Friends
• Ignore list
• Trading house
• Raid leaderboards status
• AvA leaderboard status
• Deleted Items
• Deleted Characters

The Elder Scrolls: Online launches soon on PS4 and Xbox one. Stay tuned.

It was widely expected, so it didn’t come as a surprise to anyone when ZeniMax Online announced a few months ago that their ambitious Elder Scrolls themed MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online, would be going free to play. And today, that day has finally come, as the ‘Tamriel Unlimited’ update has finally gone live for the game on PC and Mac, meaning all of Tamriel is now explorable in conjunction with countless other warriors- for free.

To be clear, the entire original game and all six major content updates since launch – including the new Justice and Champion Systems  – has been made free to play, and every single account ever made has been upgraded to free to play status. Considering that The Elder Scrolls Online was never a bad MMO, only one hampered by some poor monetization strategies, hopefully this prompts more people to give the game an honest shot.

You can play the game on Windows PCs, Mac, as well as Xbox One and PlayStation 4 when it launches for them later this year (hopefully).