Explore The Elder Scrolls Online for free 'til next Wednesday

As Fallout 76 keeps toeing the line on whether it's a "proper" MMORPG, it's easy to forget that Bethesda have already kept a big online world kicking about for years. The Elder Scrolls Online is still quite happily letting dungeoneers plunder Tamriel for new loot, opening the doors to the Elsweyr cat kingdom just this year. Until next Wednesday, TESO has waived its entry fee, letting you romp across the countryside to your heart's content.

The Elder Scrolls 6 is still a long ways off, and I can't imagine there's a soul on Nirn who hasn't utterly exhausted Skyrim of things to do. If you're hankering for some high fantasy nonsense, though, there's always the MMO. This week's free play event for Elder Scrolls Online kicked off on Wednesday, running until 3 pm (10 am Eastern) on Wednesday, November 13th.

If you've ever poked your head into Tamriel during past free adventures, all your belongings should be right where you left them. But there are goodies in store if you're a first-time visitor to TESO - 500 Crowns to spend in the MMORPG's real-money store. That won't get you much of anything, mind, besides a handy starter pack full of XP boosters and a small cat.

New adventurers can pick from four starting classes - Nightblade, Templar, Dragonknight, and Sorcerer - and push through the bulk of the game's main quest. You can also just bugger off and go hiking, though I've never quite found TESO's world to feel quite as grounded as its singleplayer cousins.

Mine, I've never really gelled with TESO as a whole. It's all a bit weightless compared to its clunky counterparts. But as someone who's experiencing massive exhaustion from MMORPGs on the whole, I might just be done with the grind.

Whether you're looking to make some numbers go up in a familiar fantasy landscape or just a little curious, this free week might be worth a pop.