After rough launch reviews and years of patches and updates, Bethesda is finally ready to pull the plug on one of the most experimental installments in the Elder Scrolls franchise.
Elder Scrolls: Blades Will Permanently Shut Down This Summer
The Elder Scrolls: Blades was originally revealed at E3 2018 and promised to bring a fresh spin on the franchise with its free-to-play mobile-first design. The game hit early access on mobile in 2019 before a full launch on iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch in 2020.
After seven years of support, Bethesda is now ready to end its support of the free-to-play title. Here is the official update from the publisher:
“The Elder Scrolls: Blades servers will permanently shut down on June 30, 2026. From now until June 30, 2026, all items in the store will be available for 1 Gem or 1 Sigil each, so you can enjoy all content Blades has to offer. On that date, servers will be shut down and the game will be inaccessible. Thank you for playing and we hope you have enjoyed your time in Blades.”
When it was first announced, some fans of the franchise were excited at the idea of a dungeon-crawling, town-building spinoff with roguelike elements. At the same time, a larger portion of the audience was hesitant about the idea of a free-to-play mobile installment sullying the reputation of the high-quality franchise.
When the game arrived, it was met by pretty rough reviews and currently holds a Generally Unfavorable rating for both the user score and critics score on Metacritic. Considering the harsh reception it received, it’s actually a bit surprising that Blades has managed to stick around as long as it did.
Bethesda did continue patching the game with improvements, including motion controls for the Switch version, but apparently it was not enough to build an audience and income stream that justifies keeping the game online.
Once the game goes offline on June 30, 2026, players will no longer be able to access it. This likely is a bit of a gut punch for dedicated players who have spent years perfecting the town-building aspect of the game. Unfortunately, an offline mode patch does not seem likely at this point based on the announcement.
Fans of The Elder Scrolls franchise who are eager for the next adventure will need to continue to wait for the next announcement about The Elder Scrolls 6, which is currently in development.
The Elder Scrolls: Blades is available for now on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.
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