The Elder Scrolls Online vs The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
The Elder Scrolls Online is an action-RPG mmorpg game from ZeniMax Online Studios (2014) while The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is an open-world RPG game from Bethesda Game Studios (2016).
Quick answer: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition rates higher, 8.3 to 7.4 on the GamingPickz Score, and The Elder Scrolls Online is the cheaper at $19.99.
What each one is
The Elder Scrolls Online is filed under Action-RPG and Mmorpg. In contrast, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition under Open-World and RPG.
Every legend starts somewhere and in The Elder Scrolls Online, it starts with you. Join millions of players in an online, fantasy RPG set in a vast living Elder Scrolls world.
Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition brings the epic fantasy to life in stunning detail. The Special Edition includes the critically acclaimed game and add-ons with all-new features.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
The Elder Scrolls Online is set on the continent of Tamriel during the Second Era, but not all places in Tamriel are playable. The events of the game occur a millennium before those of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and around 800 years before The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion . Its structure is broadly similar to Skyrim , with two separate conflicts progressing at the same time, one with the fate of the world in the… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Original release The Elder Scrolls Online received "mixed or average" reviews from critics for the PC version, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . PC Gamer gave it a score of 68/100, writing that it is "an MMORPG of moderate scope with a few good ideas" but cautioning that "'okay' isn't good enough when you're facing down this much of a premium. " ZeniMax addressed many of the game's early criticisms and released major updates. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting Skyrim is set 201 years after the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion , and it is not a direct sequel. Skyrim is a cold and mountainous region in the north of the continent of Tamriel. It has traditionally been divided into nine administrative sections, called "holds", each governed by a jarl from a larger town. (Wikipedia)
Characters
The player character is the mythic Last Dragonborn and is typically referred to as such. The Dragonborn can be male or female, from one of ten races. Each of the ten races has, in addition to a bonus for certain skills, a power specific to their race – for example, Nords start with a bonus to several martial skills, and the ability to intimidate enemies for a short period. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Skyrim received critical acclaim upon release. It received a combined 40/40 score from four editors of the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu , the first Western-developed game to do so. The removal of the character class system, present in previous The Elder Scrolls entries, was generally well received by reviewers. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| The Elder Scrolls Online | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.4/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (81%, 161,491) | Very Positive (92%, 376,171) |
| Critic aggregate | 80/100 | 74/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $39.99 |
| Install size | 150 GB | 12 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | verified |
| Released | 2014 | 2016 |
| Developer | ZeniMax Online Studios | Bethesda Game Studios |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
The Elder Scrolls Online vs The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
The Elder Scrolls OnlineAction-RPG mmorpg gameThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special EditionOpen-world RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
The Elder Scrolls OnlineRPG, MMORPG, Open WorldThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special EditionOpen World, RPG, AdventureThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
The Elder Scrolls OnlineScore 7.4 · 81% on Steam · 80 criticThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition ✓Score 8.3 · 92% on Steam · 74 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
The Elder Scrolls Online161,491 reviews · 6 add-ons · 150 GBThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition376,171 reviews · 2 add-ons · 12 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
The Elder Scrolls Online ✓$19.99The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition$39.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
The Elder Scrolls OnlineVerifiedThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special EditionVerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe Elder Scrolls Online and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (GamingPickz Score 8.3)
- The cheaper right now: The Elder Scrolls Online ($19.99)
- Lighter on storage: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (12 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (376,171 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
RPGOpen WorldFantasyAdventureSingleplayerActionCharacter CustomizationStory Rich
Where they differ
MMORPGMultiplayerExplorationMassively MultiplayerPvPPvE
ModdableDragonsFirst-PersonGreat SoundtrackThird PersonStealth
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, The Elder Scrolls Online is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| The Elder Scrolls Online | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Direct X 11.0 compliant video card with 1GB RAM (NVIDIA® GeForce® 560 | NVIDIA GTX 470 1GB /AMD HD 7870 2GB |
| Minimum CPU | Intel® Core™ i5 2300 | Intel i5-750/AMD Phenom II X4-945 |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Install size | 150 GB | 12 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: The Elder Scrolls Online · The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 6 accessibility features for The Elder Scrolls Online and 5 for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are The Elder Scrolls Online and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition in scope?
The Elder Scrolls Online has drawn 161,491 Steam reviews, ships 6 add-ons and installs in 150 GB. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition has drawn 376,171 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 12 GB.
Is The Elder Scrolls Online or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition better?
By the GamingPickz Score, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition rates higher (8.3 to 7.4). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, The Elder Scrolls Online or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition?
The Elder Scrolls Online is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $39.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get The Elder Scrolls Online or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition?
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition rates higher, 8.3 to 7.4 on the GamingPickz Score, and The Elder Scrolls Online is the cheaper at $19.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.