The Elder Scrolls Online is going to Summerset, and a free week is coming

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Bethesda announced today that the ancestral home of Tamriel's Altmer—the High Elves—will be the setting of the next Elder Scrolls Online expansion, Summerset. The expansion will conclude the story that began in 2015 with the Orsinium DLC, and will add a new zone, the Psijic Order faction and skillset, a new jewelry crafting skill, and new Delves, Bosses, and a 12-player Trial called Cloudrest.

Summerset is a lush, lovely place, "but trouble is hiding in the shadows, and corruption threatens to destroy High Elf society from within," Bethesda said. That may be why Queen Ayrenn has opened the borders to outsiders for the first time in Altmeri history, and also why she's not actually living there right now. Instead, her cousin, Alwinarwe, rules as regent, aided by Khajit spy Razum-dar, Valsirenn of the Psijic Order, and Alchemy, a performer in the House of Reveries.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset will go live on PC on May 21, and is available for pre-purchase now in multiple editions, including a swanky physical release that comes with a statue of the Daedric Prince Mephala. Pre-purchasing will also net you the Queen's Bounty Pack, with the Court of Bedlam costume, a Pocket Salamander pet, treasure maps, a Psijic Vault Crown crate, and experience boosters, plus a digital copy of the Morrowind DLC and the Nightmare Senche mount.

Full details about the next expansion are available at elderscrollsonline.com. Bethesda is also making The Elder Scrolls Online free to play for a week, starting on March 21.

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.