The Elder Scrolls Online is available on Stadia with crossplay and progression. Additionally, the game attracted players with free access if they had a Stadia Pro subscription. However, this deal came with a catch, which is currently frustrating many fans.
Is ESO now free? No, it is not. There was a deal at the Stadia release of ESO that allowed you to claim the game for free. However, this deal was only valid until July 16, 2020. Anyone who had a Stadia Pro subscription by that date and claimed the game in the shop received it for free and can still play it without restrictions.
Anyone who linked their ESO account with Stadia even gained access to all DLCs and expansions purchased there, such as the recently released Greymoor thanks to crossplay/progression.
However, anyone wanting to claim ESO now will face disappointment. The deal is now over, and those who do not have ESO on Stadia will now have to buy the game again in the store there, even if they already own it on PC or other platforms. However, only the base version is needed here if you have already purchased additional content on PC.
Limited Offer Was Not Clear to Everyone
This is why some fans are upset: Currently, some players are venting their frustration on reddit and in the ESO forum. They feel they were unaware of the limitation of the deal. Some even specifically subscribed to Stadia Pro so they could play ESO conveniently and without annoying updates on various devices.
In their opinion, the information about the limitation of claiming by July 16 was not communicated clearly enough. Indeed, this entry was easy to overlook, as the release and the advantages on Stadia were widely praised.
The fact that the deal was only available for a limited time was mentioned only in passing. On Twitter, there was no mention of it at all. An asterisk next to the Stadia platform was only a reminder that ESO was only available in certain countries.
Because of this, many fans are now angry and refuse to pay for a game they have already purchased on another platform. In the ESO forum and on reddit, there are posts like these:
- Protodoxa: “I just shot myself in the foot. I had the impression that it would remain a Pro game forever, bought Pro, and now I have a subscription for Stadia Pro and no games I want, and they won’t refund my money!”
- Kemenril: “I exclusively subscribed to Stadia Pro for ESO through Stadia Pro’s ‘free’ basic offer, but I learned today that this offer ended yesterday.”
Some players believe, however, that the upset fans are to blame themselves since the limitation had been mentioned often enough:
Really? In every message from Stadia that I’ve seen, it was clear that you could only claim until July 16. I’m quite sure that was even on the Stadia store page. You are truly to blame. Pro games that leave the list of claimable games are always announced in advance.
Bethlen on reddit
Surely it is annoying when you were looking forward to a bargain that is no longer available. Nevertheless, Stadia offers useful features for PC players. The Stadia version has no update loading times, and you have the option to play on the go or comfortably on the TV.
