Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 300 sampled Steam reviews (216 positive / 84 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing13% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers8% mention it
- Combat7% mention it
- Progression & loot6% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing21% mention it
- Combat17% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers12% mention it
- Bugs & crashes12% mention it
- Visuals & art11% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
50%
28 reviews
5-15h
74%
62 reviews
15-40h
65%
48 reviews
40-100h
86%
44 reviews
100h+
74%
118 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 71 | 16 |
| Creator reviews (3 tracked) | – | 69 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 81% | 75 | 1208 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 58 | 111 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 78% | 72 | 454 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Aug 13, 2026) · 265 reviews sampled · 454 total reviews in window · weighted 170.8 up / 48.9 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (87)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 65
“The Elder Scrolls Online is a big game with a lot of work put into its creation. ZeniMax Online has created a large world with many quests and a cool PvP mode. The game tries to satisfy both solo gamers and MMO lovers, but the end result is short of expectations. TESO can be recommended only to the fans of the genre, who accept its flaws: repetitiveness, not very exciting combat and lots of simplifications. This "Skyrim online" is well made, but not very original.”
read full review ↗ - 72
“How ironic is it that by making their storied franchise an online experience, Bethesda has somehow created a less immersive Elder Scrolls game? I used to feel like The One, now I'm just a customer.”
read full review ↗ - 50
- 100
“Yes, plenty of compromises were made to create this hybrid of a traditional Elder Scrolls game and a traditional MMO. Those compromises will leave purists on both sides disappointed, but this is an ambitious and exciting epic that promises to only grow with time. It's a sandbox worth sharing, provided everyone is willing to play nicely with others and Bethesda keeps it clean.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Nevertheless the quests are fun, the world still good to explore, the combat great, the community wonderful (apart from those damn spambots) and the Alliance War a wildly ambitious and impressive experiment. Elder Scrolls Online is, by the skin of its teeth and a lot of hard work from Zenimax, a success. ”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Elder Scrolls Online is a good, fun game overall, but it's a better MMO than it is an Elder Scrolls game.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“All in all, The Elder Scrolls Online is a pretty good game. It's not outstanding, and it's not terrible.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Elder Scrolls Online is a ton of fun in an outside-the-box sort of way. It can't seem to decide whether it wants to be single player or MMO, so be prepared for some in-between weirdness, but nothing that really detracts much from the experience. Between Guilds, crafting, PvP, and dungeons, it has all of the makings of a solid MMO.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Elder Scrolls fans will be put off by its rigid structure and weak storytelling, while your average MMO player will tire of wading through the wan questing to get to the good stuff. Even the good stuff isn't outstanding, and the game doesn't represent good value compared to its competition.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Hopefully, The Elder Scrolls Online will one day get out of its own way, and stop trying to stifle the very fun it's trying to provide.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“All in all, The Elder Scrolls Online is a great game, with one of the most successful MMO launches I have come across, despite some of the well-documented teething problems. As it stands, I can only see improvement here and Bethesda Softworks seem dedicated to making that happen.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Murkmire feels a bit more reserved than Summerset, but as a DLC that's expected -- and that doesn't mean this isn't well worth your time.”
read full review ↗
GRYOnline.pl
Paste Magazine
The Angry Joe Show
The A.V. Club
GameWatcher
Tom's Guide
Worth Playing
The Escapist
Eurogamer
GameSpot
GameGrin
GameSkinny…and 75 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Combat Updates – Update 51 PTSAug 13, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 50 Base-Game Patch Now Live on All PlatformsJun 8, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Specialize and Customize with Class MasteryMay 14, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 50 is Now Available on the Public Test ServerApr 14, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Werewolf Update From The Combat Refresh TeamApr 11, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Tamriel Tomes Season Zero Developer UpdateApr 10, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Player Experience Livestream—Update 50Mar 25, 2026
- Update 49 Base-Game Patch Now Live on All PlatformsMar 9, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- ESO’s Devs Share Insights into Update 49’s Player Experience ImprovementsMar 4, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Leaping into the Dragonknight Class RefreshJan 9, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 2 & Update 48 Now Live on PC/MacOct 28, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Delve Deeper into Update 46’s Base Game Additions with ESO’s DevelopersJun 12, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 & Update 46 Now Live on PC/MacJun 2, 2025significant · resets scoring window