The Elder Scrolls: Blades
The Elder Scrolls: Blades is a free-to-play action role-playing game by Bethesda Game Studios. It’s a spin-off in The Elder Scrolls series, set after The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and before The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The game began in early access on Android and iOS in 2019, and the full game released for Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch in May 2020.
Gameplay is from a first-person perspective and designed for mobile. Most actions are touch-based, including tapping, swiping, and using on-screen controls. The game is more linear than other Elder Scrolls games. You won’t sneak or hide bodies like in some other titles. Combat includes melee weapons, magic (up to three spells), and ranged attacks. Dungeons are both hand-made and procedurally generated. You can customize and level up your character.
Blades has three main modes:
- Abyss: a roguelike endless dungeon.
- Arena: player-versus-player battles.
- Town: the main hub where you get quests, meet NPCs, and rebuild your destroyed home. You can also visit friends’ towns.
On phones, you can play in landscape or portrait mode.
Story overview: The action takes place in the Fourth Era after the Great War. You are a surviving former member of the Blades, an elite group once loyal to the Empire. The Blades are outlawed and scattered. Your hometown is destroyed by mercenaries hired by the Bloodfall Queen. A tunnel under the town leads to the crypt of Celemaril Light-Bringer, an ancient Sorcerer-King who is resurrected as an undead threat. You brave dangerous dungeons and forests to rescue missing villagers, help rebuild the town, and uncover the mercenaries’ motives while watching for Thalmor agents. You also reunite with your former mentor, Henrik Seven-Swords, and pursue the Bloodfall Queen, who is clashing with the Greencap Bandits.
Development and release: The game was announced at E3 2018 by Todd Howard. It first released in March 2019 as an iOS/Android free-to-play game, with an early access period and invites. In May 2019 it opened to more players without needing a Bethesda account. An update in June 2019 added NPC dialogue and higher level caps. The game left early access on May 12, 2020 (version 1.7), and the Nintendo Switch version came out on May 14, 2020.
Reception: Early reviews were mixed. Critics praised visuals, combat, and story but criticized long loading times, grindy progression, and microtransactions. The Switch version received generally unfavorable reviews. Despite this, Blades was a commercial success, with over 1 million iOS downloads in the first week and strong early earnings. It earned several nominations and awards, including a win for Song/Score - Mobile Video Game at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 00:10 (CET).