The Elder Scrolls Online kicks off a free weekend, starting tomorrow

ZeniMax is making its Tamrielic MMO The Elder Scrolls Online free to try this weekend. Beginning tomorrow (which, I know, is not the weekend, but roll with me here) and until December 6, the game will be free to download and play, and all new accounts will be given 500 crowns for use in the in-game store. 

Over the same period of time, players will be able to take part in an in-game dungeon event that will award "Mysterious Reward Boxes" for completing a random dungeon. The prize boxes will contain items including experience scrolls, pets, mounts, costumes, and "the jackpot," a pack of 20 homes or 20 mounts. Completing the dungeons will also earn you additional entries in the 10 Million Stories sweepstakes, which features a grand prize of a trip for two to PAX East in 2018, every in-game collectible in the TESO store, and the opportunity to become an NPC in the game.

The free-to-play weekend (which is really closer to a week) begins at 10 am ET on November 30 and ends at 10 am ET on December 6. If you've previously indulged in a TESO freebie but didn't buy the full game after, your character will be waiting for you, fully intact, to pick up where you left off.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.