ESO Season Two: Markarth and Greymoor Are Now Free
ESO's Season Two: Echoes of Skyrim makes the Markarth and Greymoor zones free for every player, with Whitestrake's Mayhem now live in Cyrodiil.
The Elder Scrolls Online just made two of its biggest Skyrim-era expansions free for every player. As of November 9, the Markarth zone and storyline have moved into ESO's base game, joining the Greymoor Chapter, which made the same switch when Season Two launched on October 21. Together they close out the "Dark Heart of Skyrim" saga ZeniMax Online Studios has been building toward for years, and neither one costs a Crown Store purchase or an active ESO Plus membership anymore.
01Markarth Moves to the Base Game
Markarth is the fortress city at the heart of the Reach, the mountainous, witch-haunted region of southwestern Skyrim. The zone's storyline sends you digging into Arkthzand Cavern and an expanded stretch of Blackreach to confront the Reachfolk's Witchmen and the darkness they've been nursing underground. It wraps up the questline that began with the Greymoor Chapter back in 2020, and as of this month both chapters sit in the base game alongside the two-player Wolfhunter DLC dungeons that originally unlocked them.
To jump in, open the in-game Collections menu, select the Stories tab, and look for Markarth under Zone DLC. Picking it up hands you the opening quest that points toward the Reach — no separate download or purchase screen involved.
02What Season Two: Echoes of Skyrim Includes
Markarth's move is one piece of Season Two: Echoes of Skyrim, which has been rolling out new Skyrim-themed content since its October 21 launch and runs through January 27, 2027. Alongside the newly free zones, the season introduced ESO's first two solo versions of classic dungeons — Moon Hunter Keep and March of Sacrifices — with adjustable difficulty for players who'd rather not look for a group. A new Season Two Tamriel Tome went live the same day, offering free, Premium, and Premium-plus-Bonuses reward tracks that include the Maarselok Slayer Mammoth mount.
Later in the season, ZeniMax plans a Nowhere Vault-themed Golden Pursuits campaign and a batch of player-experience changes — larger home furnishing limits, more Companion customization options, area-of-effect taunts and pulls, and a new minimap option — arriving with Update 52 on January 19, 2027. That update also kicks off a new PvP season that will run across Seasons Three and Four.
03Whitestrake's Mayhem Returns to Cyrodiil
Markarth's base-game debut landed in the same week as the return of Whitestrake's Mayhem, ESO's PvP event. It started November 12 at 10AM ET and runs until November 23 at 10AM ET, covering Cyrodiil's Alliance War, the Imperial City, and Battlegrounds. For the duration, ZeniMax is running a flat 100% boost to Experience Point, Alliance Point, and Tel Var Stone gains across those modes, plus a chance at Pelinal's Boon Boxes as a special event reward. ZeniMax has also trimmed the event down to a "leaner, meaner" format that will now repeat more often through the year, with the next run tentatively planned for February 2027.
04Tied to Skyrim's 15th Anniversary
The timing isn't a coincidence. November 11 marked 15 years since the original The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launched, and ZeniMax leaned into the anniversary by pointing players toward Western Skyrim and the newly free Markarth zone as a way to mark the occasion. A companion Golden Pursuits campaign, Return to Western Skyrim, is live now through December 2 and rewards exploration of Western Skyrim and Blackreach with milestone prizes, including a Sea of Ghosts Coral Crab pet and a Sovngarde Crown Crate.
15 years of Skyrim. Countless adventures. Join us in celebrating Skyrim's anniversary in ESO! Explore Western Skyrim and Markarth, now included for free in the base game, and earn new rewards in a Skyrim-themed Golden Pursuit.
— The Elder Scrolls Online (@TESOnline), November 11, 2026 on X
05What's Unconfirmed So Far
ZeniMax hasn't published exact patch-size figures or server downtime windows for the Markarth rollout, and the studio's own posts don't specify whether Markarth's four-player Wolfhunter dungeon versions received any balance tuning when they moved to the base game — treat any claims about dungeon difficulty changes as unconfirmed until ZeniMax's patch notes say otherwise. The studio also hasn't detailed everything coming in the Nowhere Vault Golden Pursuits campaign beyond naming it as a January addition.
06Why It Matters
ESO has been steadily folding older paid chapters and DLC into its base game for several seasons now, and Markarth's move continues that trend for anyone who skipped buying it the first time around. If you've already cleared Greymoor's storyline, Markarth is the direct continuation — and with Whitestrake's Mayhem's PvP bonuses and the Western Skyrim Golden Pursuit both live at the same time, this is one of the busier weeks ESO has had outside of a major content launch. Check the official ESO patch notes before logging in if you want the full list of smaller fixes bundled with the update.
FAQ
Is Markarth free in The Elder Scrolls Online now?
Yes. As of November 9, 2026, the Markarth zone and its storyline moved into ESO's base game as part of Season Two: Echoes of Skyrim, so any player can access it without buying the DLC or subscribing to ESO Plus.
Do I need ESO Plus to play Markarth or Greymoor?
No. Both the Markarth and Greymoor zones are now part of the free base game. ESO Plus still unlocks other DLC zones, the Craft Bag, and other membership perks, but it isn't required for either of these two.
How do I start the Markarth questline?
Open the Collections menu in-game, select the Stories tab, and choose Markarth under Zone DLC to pick up its opening quest, which points you toward the Reach.
When does Whitestrake's Mayhem end?
The PvP event runs from November 12 at 10AM ET until November 23, 2026 at 10AM ET, covering Cyrodiil, the Imperial City, and Battlegrounds.
What's coming next in Season Two: Echoes of Skyrim?
A Nowhere Vault-themed Golden Pursuits campaign and Update 52's player-experience changes, including a new PvP season, are both scheduled for January 19, 2027.
Official resources
Priya covers patches, updates and announcements for Tutorial.Games, working from developer patch notes, publisher newsrooms and official channels only. If a change affects one of our guides, she flags it to the guides desk the same day.
