With a lineage spanning back to 1994, it’s difficult to talk about RPGs without mentioning Bethesda Studios’ flagship franchise, the Elder Scrolls. Whether your first adventure across Tamriel came while battling the vicious dragon Alduin in 2011’s Skyrim or you’ve been following the franchise ever since saving Emperor Uriel Septim’s life in Arena almost three decades ago, chances are you’ve dabbled in one of these seminal fantasy epics.
With so many Elder Scrolls games now available to play, any newcomers looking to get into the series are probably wondering where to start. Luckily, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ve assembled a chronological timeline of every Elder Scrolls game and major expansion, showing you how to play the series in order.
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How Many Elder Scrolls Games Are There?
There are a total of 27 games and expansions in the Elder Scrolls timeline - 4 exclusively on PC, 18 on home console and 5 on mobile devices. All of these games are canon to the timeline, telling stories set in the fictional world of Tamriel. Although some span multiple provinces, each entry in the series tends to focus on a specific continent or region of Tamriel, whether that’s the murky swamps of Morrowind, the snowy mountains of Skyrim or the sunny meadows of Cyrodiil.
There are only two games that won’t feature on this timeline, and that’s because they don’t specify the year or era in which they take place. These are The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar and The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold. Both mobile dungeon-crawler spin-offs are isolated from the events of any other Elder Scrolls game, making it very difficult to place them on the timeline. With that in mind, let’s run through the chronological order of every other game in the series.
Elder Scrolls Games and Expansions in Chronological Order
These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.
1. The Elder Scrolls Online
The first mark on the timeline, The Elder Scrolls Online offers a fully online version of Tamriel, allowing groups of players to team up and explore some of the franchise’s most iconic regions. Set during the Second Age, the story takes place during a time when the Imperial throne lies empty and Tamriel is without a ruler.
With no emperor residing over Tamriel, three factions rise to fight over the throne, with the land’s fiercest warriors taking part in a battle known as the Alliance War. However, politics are the least of their worries, as Molag Bal, an ancient Daedric Prince, has initiated an event known as the Planemeld. This cataclysmic ritual threatens to merge Tamriel with the apocalyptic realm of Coldharbour, forever transforming it into a desolate wasteland.
With the Planemeld commencing, we meet the player character: a warrior known as the Vestige. Following a ritual at the hands of an evil mage, the Vestige’s soul is taken. Shortly after, they wake in Coldharbour, alive but now soulless. Fighting their way back to Tamriel, the Vestige begins an adventure to defeat Molag Bal, reclaim their soul and put a stop to the Planemeld.
2. The Elder Scrolls Online - Morrowind
The first major expansion added to Bethesda’s online take on the franchise, The Elder Scrolls Online - Morrowind allows players to venture to the titular elven region years before the events of the Elder Scrolls III. It follows a story set in the realm of Vvardenfell, with the Vestige aiding one of the Tribunal gods, Vivec, as they attempt to stamp out a new Daedric threat and stop a meteor hurtling towards the island.
Read our review of The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind.
3. The Elder Scrolls Online - Summerset
The second major expansion added to The Elder Scrolls Online, Summerset takes place in the eponymous home of the High Elves. Players venture to Summerset as a new Daedric threat looms, investigating a cult known as the Court of Bedlam. As the Vestige learns more about the Daedric followers’ plans, they rally with allies to stop them.
Read our review of The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset.
4. The Elder Scrolls Online - Elsweyr
Elder Scrolls Online’s third major expansion, Elsweyr transports players to the titular homeland of the Khajiti, which has been invaded by hordes of dragons. Long thought to be extinct, the Vestige heads to Elsweyr to defeat the flying beats while investigating the reason being their mysterious return.
Read our review of The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr.
5. The Elder Scrolls Online - Greymoor
The fourth major expansion added to The Elder Scrolls Online, Greymoor takes players to Skyrim years before the events of The Elder Scrolls V. Sent to investigate a series of mysterious supernatural storms, the Vestige heads to the home of the Nords, finding themselves facing off against a powerful vampire lord and his ancient army, the Gray Host. Battling vampires, werewolves, zombies and other monsters, they must fight to save Skyrim from its undead invaders.
Read our review of The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor.
6. The Elder Scrolls Online - Blackwood
The Elder Scrolls Online’s fifth major expansion, Blackwood is set in the marshes just beyond Leyawin, taking players to the setting of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion hundreds of years before the events of the game. The Vestige ventures to the region after learning that a cult known as the Longhouse Emperors have entered into a pact with the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon. Hoping to stop the demonic god, the Vestige teams up with new allies in an effort to end his monstrous ambitions.
Read our review of The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood.
7. The Elder Scrolls Online - High Isle
The sixth major expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online, High Isle takes players to the home of the Bretons, where they uncover a mysterious conspiracy that threatens all of Tamriel. Pursuing a battalion of knights known as the Ascendant Order, the Vestige discovers their leader, the Ascendant Lord, is plotting to plunge the world into an era of eternal conflict. Teaming with allies, they embark on an adventure to stop the plan and take the Ascendant Lord down.
8. The Elder Scrolls Online - Necrom
The Elder Scrolls' seventh major expansion, Necrom returns to the province of Morrowind, allowing players to explore the region of Telvanni Peninsula. While venturing through the idyllic land, they come across a new Daedric plot, uncovering cosmic secrets that threaten all of Morrowind and the realms beyond.
9. The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
Set during the final years of the Second Era, The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard is an action-focused spin-off of the main series. As a violent civil war rages following the death of Hammerfall’s former king, players take control of a Redguard mercenary named Cyrus, who returns to the continent in search of his missing sister, Iszara.
Cyrus’ investigation takes him across Hammerfell, as he battles pirates, guards and Daedric forces. Along the way, he learns more about Hammerfell’s rulers and their connection to his sister, uncovering sinister, long-hidden secrets.
10. The Elder Scrolls: Arena
The first mainline entry in the series, Elder Scrolls: Arena takes place hundreds of years after Redguard, moving the franchise into the Third Era. After being usurped by the treacherous battle mage Jagar Tharn, Tamriel’s ruler, Emperor Uriel Septim, is trapped in an alternate realm, with Tharn disguising himself as the monarch and taking his place on the Imperial Throne.