Hours of clicking a Dragonstone led to a four-second-long Elder Scrolls Online tease
That was a letdown.
Update: After thousands of people spent time clicking on the digital stone in Bethesda's TESO Twitch stream, this is what happened:
Preview the upcoming cinematic trailer for ESO's next chapter. #SeasonOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/SHQsaJT6BsJanuary 9, 2019
After the clip played, a message took its place: "January 15 at 2 pm PST / 5 pm EST - The Season of the Dragon approaches." And that's the extent of it. Some people in the Twitch chat seem amused by what could be seen as master-level trolling, while others are genuinely disappointed that they gave themselves tendonitis for this.
If you want to witness the moment in its original glory, you can catch it on Bethesda's Twitch channel. There are also dozens of clips available that cut to the chase more directly.
Original story:
Bethesda is teasing the next expansion to its Elder Scrolls Online MMO with a Twitch stream that will, eventually, culminate in the world premiere of the teaser trailer. It's not much to look at right now, just a Dragonstone that is partially illuminated by magic. But once fully lit, the fun (that is, the trailer) will begin.
Check out https://t.co/MuptyHpnNT today for a chance to win prizes by engaging with the extension. We will even have the world premiere of our trailer teaser on stream! #SeasonOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/8YJJurZ3iNJanuary 9, 2019
I'll be honest, I'm not 100 percent certain as to how to make the magic happen. Clicking on the Twitch screen causes a sparkle effect that I assume has something to do with it, but lots of people are also typing "dragon" into the chat window, and I wonder if maybe they know something that I don't.
Either way, it appears to confirm what we learned earlier this week: That TESO is headed to the Khajiit land of Elsweyr to battle dragons, chug skooma, and probably buy and sell wares. (If you have coin.)
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All of that and more, including what will apparently be a new Necromancer class, will be revealed once the stone is sufficiently magicked. We'll update with the teaser and other info when it happens.
(The Twitch stream is embedded below, but you'll have to view it at twitch.tv in order to actually interact with it.)
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.