Free-to-play RPG The Elder Scrolls: Blades is being shut down. Bethesda made the announcement through a message in the game, where it also gave players a bundle of Gems and Sigils. The servers for The Elder Scrolls: Blades will go offline on June 30th, 2026, and in the meantime, players can buy items in the in-game store for 1 Gem or 1 Sigil each.
“All players receive a free bundle of Gems and Sigils, so you can enjoy all content Blades has to offer,” reads the in-game message. “Thank you for playing and we hope you have enjoyed your time in Blades.”
The Elder Scrolls: Blades was released back in May 2020 on Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch. While free-to-play on the mobile platforms, the game had a $14.99 price tag on the Switch. It is worth noting that, in light of this announcement, The Elder Scrolls: Blades has been de-listed from all platform stores.
In a Reddit thread discussing the end of the game, many commenters spoke about its various issues, with most comments revolving around Bethesda’s monetization practices. “I never got into the game because of the monetization but it is a shame it will be unplayable,” wrote one Redditor. “I played it and it’s not terrible for a mobile game, but you pretty quickly hit a wall where you are stuck waiting for days long upgrades and the second it was like ‘real money will make this faster’ I stopped,” wrote another.
The Elder Scrolls: Blades was originally announced all the way back in 2018, where Bethesda described its various gameplay aspects, like combat, questing, dungeons, and a customizable town. The company had also mentioned that it would be a multiplayer experience, where players could invite friends to hang out in their town. While the title is now being shut down, initial ambitions for the title were larger, with the company having plans to bring it to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and even VR headsets.
The story of The Elder Scrolls: Blades was set between the events of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. The title offered three main game modes: Abyss, Arena, and Town. Abyss revolved around players taking on an endless dungeon to see how far they could get. Arena, on the other hand, focused on PvP combat. And finally, Town is where most of the in-game story could be found, with players being able to take on quests and talk to various characters.
In our review, we noted that drawbacks of The Elder Scrolls: Blades largely stemmed from the fact that it was never meant to be a full-fledged new entry in the franchise. Despite this, however, we praised the Arena mode and the process of rebuilding the town. However, the negatives far outnumbered the positives, with issues ranging from the combat lacking any real depth and dungeons being small and linear, to its grindy nature that felt like it was designed to make the player spend real-world money. Ultimately, we gave it a score of 3 out of 10.
It’s always tough to see a game go, especially one with so much potential like The Elder Scrolls: Blades. It’s a reminder of how quickly the gaming landscape can change. Thank you for sharing this update!
I completely agree; it’s disappointing to see a game with such an interesting premise come to an end. It’s a reminder of how challenging it can be to maintain player engagement in the mobile gaming space. Hopefully, Bethesda will take the lessons learned from this experience into their future projects!
Absolutely, it’s a shame when a game with such potential doesn’t get the chance to fully develop. The blending of traditional RPG elements with mobile gameplay was quite innovative. Hopefully, Bethesda can learn from this experience for future projects!
I completely agree; it’s disappointing to see a game with such a rich universe face this fate. It’s interesting to think about how player feedback might have shaped its development if it had continued. Hopefully, Bethesda can take lessons from this experience for future projects.