Scrying for hidden artefacts in Greymoor's ancient Nordic ruins — from Update 51, the entire Antiquities system is being overhauled and Greymoor is joining the base game, making scrying free for every player.

Week of 27 June 2026

The Elder Scrolls Online's June developer stream arrived with a bigger slate of announcements than most had anticipated: the Greymoor chapter is joining the base game, the Antiquities system is being overhauled for the first time since its introduction in 2020, and Season 1 has a confirmed start date of 8 July. Guild Wars 2's balance team held its own preview stream this week, laying out what may be the most expansive single balance patch the game has seen — with Weaver, Druid, and Bladesworn among the specialisations receiving full reworks ahead of July 14. Old School RuneScape's Blood Moon Rises quest arrives on Tuesday, bringing the Myreque questline to its conclusion after more than a decade.

The Elder Scrolls Online

The June 23 developer update livestream covered an unusually dense set of changes for Update 51 and the approaching Season 1. The stream's biggest announcement — Greymoor joining the base game — carries significant downstream consequences that were addressed in detail, particularly the restructuring of Antiquities access that comes with it.

Greymoor Joins the Base Game

From Update 51, the Greymoor chapter will be included in the base game — no chapter purchase required. The principal consequence: Antiquities, which launched with Greymoor in 2020, becomes a core game system accessible to all players. A new Antiquities quest starter is being added to the Crown Store, giving players a clear entry point regardless of how they approach the game. The Antiquarian's Eye (the tool used to identify dig sites) is also being fixed and improved, and Gabrielle — the primary NPC associated with Antiquities — is receiving a visual update.
Developer Kira Ross Schlitt confirmed that the change is permanent and applies across all platforms. Full stream coverage is on the ESO forums.

Antiquities Overhaul

The Antiquities system is receiving its first substantive overhaul since launch. Antiquity lead drop rates have been increased across the board, with a specific fix addressing the disparity between older leads (which had never received the drop rate improvements applied to newer leads post-Greymoor) and current leads. Additionally, leads now drop at their full chance until codex completion — rather than only on the first drop — making it significantly less frustrating to complete an antiquity's codex entry.
Lead grind reductions are substantial across older content, with the team acknowledging that some of the original rates had become unacceptably slow compared to those introduced in more recent chapters. Community reaction has been strongly positive, with many players noting that this is a long-requested quality-of-life change.

Season 1 — 8 July

ESO Season 1 begins 8 July: Season 0 ends at 10 am EST; Season 1 starts at 1 pm EST. The season brings the Thieves Guild content update and the Nowhere Vault (previously announced as the Sage's Vault — the rename to 'Nowhere Vault' was confirmed at the stream). The Nowhere Vault is a new gameplay mode featuring randomised rooms with unique challenge types: navigation puzzles, jump puzzles, traversal sections, and some combat.
The Nowhere Vault contains Jackpot Rooms — two types: a resource room filled with harvestable materials and heavy sacks, and a vault treasure room with chests providing gold and loot. Jackpot Rooms are accessed by consuming a Nowhere Key — only the player activating the key is charged, not the whole group. The Nowhere Vault is permanent, not seasonal.
Solo Dungeons are also being detailed further ahead of Season 1: the difficulty can be adjusted by interacting with 'Meted Misfortunes' (a pile of undaunted weapons with three difficulty debuffs). Solo dungeon quests are repeatable. New monster masks are available exclusively from solo dungeons and they are among the best sources of gold companion gear in the game.

Update 51 — Other Changes

The PTS start date has moved to 27 July (from the originally planned 6 July). Season 1 on 8 July is unaffected — the PTS delay only impacts preview access to the remaining content of Update 51.
Hybridisation 2.0 is coming: Brutality now sources from both weapon damage and spell damage (previously, weapon damage only). Elder Dragon (Nightblade) and Hemorrhage from the Assassination skill line both receive the new hybridised version, and Dawn's Wrath Eliminate gives group armour while Dark Magic Exploitation provides offensive penetration.
A HUD editor is arriving in U51 for PC only, allowing players to move and resize UI elements. Console players will need to wait until cross-play infrastructure allows it.
Achievement pinning: players can now pin a high-level achievement with multiple sub-achievements, providing more granular progress tracking than the previous single-achievement pin system. Up to three sub-achievements show simultaneously.
Transmute stations are coming to Cyrodiil and the Imperial City. Primary and favourite home sorting is being improved. Companion helmets — frequently requested — are confirmed for Update 52 (not U51, as some had hoped).

The Weaver receives a full rework in the 14 July balance patch — its specialisation traits are being restructured around utility rather than direct damage, and Elemental Refreshment now grants vitality baseline across all elementalist elite specs.

Guild Wars 2

ArenaNet held a Skills and Balance Preview Livestream on 22 June for the July 14 balance update, presenting what community analysts are describing as one of the largest balance patches the game has received. The stream covered changes to almost every profession, with full reworks on several elite specialisations.

July 14 Balance Update — Profession Overview

Warrior: Flurry becomes Bloodthirst — a circular AoE that deals damage and heals based on the target bleeding most heavily. Sword three loses its execute threshold and becomes a more consistent immobilising strike. Savage Leap now inflicts bleeding. Bladesworn receives its second rework: players can now move at reduced speed during Dragon Trigger channelling; Dragon Spike Mine applies bleeding; Overcharged Cartridges no longer have a heat limit and now also make explosions apply burning. The Gunsaber has been reworked to be more compatible with condition damage and support playstyles.
Elementalist: Weaver is the most comprehensively reworked specialisation in the patch. Unravel is removed entirely, replaced by Fervent Stance — a new ability granting quickness, fury, and swiftness on dual-attack use. Elements of Rage is fully reworked (renamed Swift Revenge, then itself reworked) to provide elemental bonuses — fire: might, water: condition removal, air: swiftness, earth: endurance — based on dual-attack element used. Elemental Refreshment now grants baseline vitality to all elementalist elite specs, making all three substantially tankier. Fresh Air Elementalist receives sceptre changes: Fiery Frost has a longer evade and cleanses immobilise; Glacial Drift has increased projectile speed and adds a daze.
Engineer: turrets are being reworked; the Toolkit spell Throw Wrench has its cooldown reduced; Cleansing Synergy now grants regeneration on heal skills. Scrapper, Mechanist, and Holosmith all receive class-specific adjustment passes.
Necromancer: Harbinger grandmaster traits are fully reworked. Harbinger Shroud skills gain quickness on entry (this effect was removed in WvW). Doom Approaches accelerates health reduction from blight but improves shroud skills. Harbinger is considered a nerf in competitive modes and broadly neutral to slightly improved in PvE.
Ranger: Druid receives a healing improvement pass. Soulbeast gets a damage number increase. Most elite specs see modest adjustment rather than full rework.
Revenant: hammer buffs in PvE, Rite of the Great Dwarf receives condition shuffling. Renegade receives balance adjustments.
Mesmer: Virtuoso receives a significant rework — Psychic Force now triggers an unblockable blade song; two armour stacks are added; the stun break and knockback are removed, making it a fundamentally different attack. Procession of Blades and Test of Faith are adjusted for damage balance.
Guardian: Dragon Hunter gets PvP sustain buffs — Wings of Resolve and the heal trap both grant significantly more healing; Hunter's Fortification now also triggers on evade. Symbol skills see PvP damage increases. Hunter's Ward ring duration is reduced in PvP (30-second cooldown, down from 40).
Thief: Pistol Whip becomes Flawless Execution — grants stealth, swiftness, and removes conditions on use. Dagger off-hand five becomes an AoE daze. Deadeye Malicious Backstab does 10% more damage per point of malice.
The full preview notes are on the forums, and the recorded livestream is on YouTube. Community discussion is predominantly on Reddit.

Fractal Rush Event

A Fractal Rush event is also planned for July 14 alongside the balance patch — specific details were not confirmed during the stream beyond the date alignment. Fractal Rush events typically increase Fractal Relics and rare drop rates from fractal content for a limited period.

Sizzling Summer Savings

A summer sale launched on 25 June, covering all expansions: Secrets of the Obscure (Standard and Deluxe), End of Dragons (Standard and Deluxe), Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire, and the Elder Dragon Saga Complete Collection. Living World Season 2 and the Starter Pack are also discounted. Player count data from MMO-Population shows June 2026 closed at approximately 46,200 concurrent players — a 36.4% month-on-month increase, reflecting the sustained interest following the GW3 announcement.

*Blood Moon Rises arrives 30 June — the conclusion of the Myreque questline at last, set against the blood-red sky of Darkmeyer. The quest is described as comparable in scope to Song of the Elves.*

Old School RuneScape

Blood Moon Rises arrives on Tuesday, 30 June, bringing the Myreque questline to its conclusion after more than a decade of instalment releases. Community anticipation is high, with content creators describing it as a release comparable in scope to Song of the Elves. Also this week: a detailed rewards blog for Wyrmscraig — a new mid-game island arriving in late July.

Blood Moon Rises — 30 June

The quest requires completion of the preceding Knight of the Sins the Father questline, and 110 combat is recommended — Blood Moon Rises is firmly endgame in terms of mechanical expectation. The quest runs 6 to 8 hours on release according to community estimates, comparable to Song of the Elves' initial completion time.
Rewards: a new spec weapon is awarded on completion — 50% special attack energy, dealing 70% of its max hit guaranteed on a successful hit. If the target's remaining HP is below that 70% threshold, it rolls 70% accuracy to finish them off. It functions as a reliable execution tool.
A new crossbow upgrade is available: Seeker Arrows — arrow shafts that can be applied to rune, dragon, or amethyst arrows, providing a minimum hit of 3 (removing the potential zero roll) and +23 ranged accuracy. This substantially improves the T-Bow's consistency.
The blisterwood flail upgrade continues the pattern of flail improvements that have accompanied previous Myreque quest completions. A new Necklace of Pursuit provides 22 range accuracy, 8 range strength, and 3 prayer — a distinct upgrade over the Necklace of Anguish, combined with an Alpha Vendor Tooth and the existing amulet at 84 Crafting.
New training methods: Stim Fights (Hunter training with both fast XP and AFK-friendly options); active Fishing training giving high XP and 5 to 10 blood vials per hour; a new Woodcutting training method providing bloodwood sap, with 50 to 60 Woodcutting XP per action at AFK pace or up to 90k XP per hour with active play.
New slayer creatures called Ventors (better bloodshard drop rates, harder fights, requiring a task for initial access), and a Maggot King slayer encounter. Full details are published on the official OSRS site.

Wyrmscraig — Late July

Jagex published the rewards blog for Wyrmscraig — a new island in the Unquiet Ocean arriving in late July. The island is accessed after completing Fallen from Grace; a Basalt Amulet provides a teleport. Wyrmscraig introduces a new Slayer Master, an endgame boss encounter, and two new skilling methods (Hunter and Crafting).
The boss drops the Holofell — a powerful two-handed weapon requiring 75 Attack. A Sunstone Resonator, obtained from the boss, upgrades the Basalt Amulet to also teleport to the Sunstone Mine directly. New Sunstone Golem crafting is unlocked on quest completion, competing with glass blowing as a Crafting training method at the relevant level ranges.
Community reaction to the rewards blog has been broadly positive. The timing places Wyrmscraig directly after Blood Moon Rises, giving July a substantive double release. Discussion on YouTube captures the early community assessment of the reward balance.

*The Venomous Abyss begins PTR testing — Patch 12.1 Curse of Ula'tek's new raid entered public testing this week, with dungeon testing running through July.*

World of Warcraft

Patch 12.1 Curse of Ula'tek entered its PTR phase this week, with the first round of dungeon testing (Altar of Fangs) going live on 25 June. This represents the first public look at the content patch following 12.0.7, and the scope of what has been revealed so far is substantial.

Dungeon and Raid Testing Schedule

Altar of Fangs opened for Mythic+ testing on 25 June (week one of the 12.1 PTR). July 2: The Binding Veil, Den of Neltharion, Murderer's Row, and Void's Scar Arena. July 9: Temple of Sethraliss, King's Rest, and Ruby Life Pools. July 16–22: all dungeons testable simultaneously. The Venomous Abyss raid is also in testing — its dungeon journal has been published on Wowhead, revealing encounter details for the full raid wing.

Patch 12.1 Content Overview

New content: the Coiled Isle is a major new zone introducing a serpent-centred culture; new flying mounts include the Emerald Sky Fang (250 patrol tasks in Vaults of Ula'tek) and the Void-Back Sky Fang (Renown 19 with the Zil'Jara Forces new faction pathway).
The 25% health and damage rebalance across all max-level content is one of the broadest systemic changes the patch introduces. Player health goes up 25%; creature damage also goes up 25%; health consumables are being adjusted to match. Individual encounter abilities are being retuned accordingly. The intent is to slow the pace of combat without changing the relative power balance between players and enemies.
A significant combat visual overhaul: cone and line abilities now show pre-cast visuals — solid outlines for instant abilities, filled cones for stationary attacks, outlined-edge (clear centre) for tracking abilities. This aligns MMORPG combat readability with action game standards and should improve accessibility for players learning encounters.
Housing blueprints expand in 12.1. Class changes are extensive across the board — the 12.1 PTR development notes are tracking here at Icy Veins with daily updates.

12.0.7 Hotfixes — 22 June

The June 22 hotfix removed the cap on upgrade Crests, and the cap on Conquest earned for the rest of Season 1 — enabling players to gear and progress without artificial weekly limits for the season's remainder. Repeatable Legends of the Haranir quests are now available to warband members who have completed the initial versions. Several Naigtal zone improvements were made: more jump mushrooms placed for movement, and Spore Uplift now works on mounted players.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

A busy week for SWTOR, with Update 7.9b fixing the remaining Legacy Reborn story bugs, the Nar Shaddaa Nightlife event confirmed for June 30, and hints from the community sphere around Update 8.0's content direction.

Update 7.9b — 23 June

Update 7.9b was released on 23 June and was described by the team as primarily a bug-fix pass for issues introduced in 7.9. Key fixes: the Master 4 Orbital Core mission is now available at the terminal while Core Competence is active; players who skipped the Dantooine crash site introduction can now purchase higher ranks of Hazard Pay; firewall port forwarding guidance (TCP 9001–9021) has been added for players experiencing connectivity issues through restrictive network configurations. The VULKK briefs page is tracking all 7.9 cycle updates.
An emergency network maintenance was performed on 26 June (2 hours, NA and EU servers only) to address login and connectivity issues. The Shae Vizla server continued operating during the downtime. The maintenance resolved a broader network issue that had been causing intermittent login failures.

Nar Shaddaa Nightlife — 30 June

The Nar Shaddaa Nightlife event returns on 30 June with new rewards for 2026. The event — SWTOR's longest-running summer seasonal — centres on the Nar Shaddaa casino district, with gambling mechanics (chips, jackpot machines) leading to cosmetic and mount rewards. Two new rewards have been confirmed for the 2026 run; specifics are expected at launch. Full details on SWTOR.
A Twitch Drop campaign is active: the Nightshade Hssiss mount is available for watching SWTOR streams, with the campaign ending on 30 June. Four hours of watch time qualifies. The drop can be claimed from the Twitch inventory after accumulating watch time.

Galactic Season 10 — Week 16 and 8.0 Signals

Galactic Season 10 continues through July 6. Week 16 objectives run 23–29 June. No confirmed date has been announced for Update 7.9.1 or Galactic Season 11. Community sources (primarily a German-language YouTube channel covering SWTOR) have noted that community sphere commentary points to Update 8.0 for autumn 2026, bringing the new planet Rilot, dynamic events, a level cap increase to 85, and a new story chapter continuing after Legacy Reborn's Malgus ending.

Final Fantasy XIV

A maintenance week for FFXIV, with Breaking Brick Mountains now live and a new Moogle Tomestone event beginning at the end of the month.

Breaking Brick Mountains — Live

The Dragon Quest X collaboration event, Breaking Brick Mountains, is live from 25 June through 13 July. Giant golems and slimes from the Dragon Quest series appear in Eorzea's coastal zones. The 2026 run adds the Dragon Quest X Framer's Kit as a new reward alongside returning cosmetics (King Slime Crown, Thug's Mug, Brickman minion). The event notes are on the Lodestone.

Moogle Tomestone Event — 30 June

A Moogle Tomestone collection event begins on 30 June. Players collect Irregular Tomestones of Thaleia by completing specific duties from a rotating list, then exchange them with the Itinerant Moogle for selected items, including newly added rewards. The event runs through a fixed window before the next major patch. Warden of the Seven Hues charity fishing continues through 30 June for Lambda Legal.

23 June Hotfix — Dancing Mad Arrow Panels

The 23 June hotfix addressed the Dancing Mad Ultimate arrow floor panel issue that had been causing inconsistent teleportation. Arrow panels now teleport players to a fixed, predetermined destination based on the panel's own position — not the character's position — eliminating the discrepancy between client-side and server-side positional data under high network load. A secondary fix resolved a bug where the mechanic would fail entirely when a character with the Sprint buff and Confused debuff stepped on a panel during high server load. The change makes the mechanic server-authoritative rather than client-position-dependent — a meaningful correction for a fight where positional accuracy is essential.

Eorzean Symphony Vol. 4

The Eorzean Symphony: FFXIV Orchestral Album Vol. 4 was released on 24 June. The album covers music from Dawntrail Patches 7.41 through 7.5 and is available for streaming and download. Tracks include music from the Occult Crescent and the more recent content updates.

RuneScape 3

RuneScape 3's week has been quieter following the Moonrise Digsite launch and Avatar Refresh — this week focused on graphical improvements and ongoing fix passes.

Waterbirth Island Graphical Refresh

The Waterbirth Island graphical refresh went live on 22 June. The island — home to the Dagannoth Kings — has received a full environment art pass: updated rock formations, improved lighting, refreshed NPC and creature models for the Dagannoths, and better water visual effects in the island's internal caves. The RS3 graphical refresh programme continues to work through legacy content areas from the original game; Waterbirth Island is a notable entry, given how frequently endgame players visit the Dagannoth Kings.

Avatar Refresh — Ongoing Fixes

Additional Avatar Refresh fixes went out this week, following the primary update and the first pass of fixes. This round addressed: Kebbit skin clothing corrections; further Legacy Mage outfit adjustments; gnome child t-shirt stretching on male characters resolved; 20-year veteran cape floating on female characters fixed; and an additional range of NPC chat head animation corrections. Jagex has indicated that a longer tail of smaller fixes will continue to roll in as reports come in from players.

Black Desert Online

Black Desert Online continued its standard patch cadence this week, with the Desert Light anniversary event and the ongoing class balance programme the main focal points.

The Desert Light anniversary event continues through 16 July. The global token counter accumulates player contributions from login challenges, PvE grinding, gathering, fishing, and boss content. Heidel Ball 2026 remains confirmed for 26 July — the principal reveal event for the game's second half of 2026 content, expected to cover Edania Part 2, a new class, and expanded cosmetic systems. The official announcement board is tracking all current events.
The June 25 patch focused on minor balance corrections and ongoing PvE adjustments in the wake of the Corsair and Sage balance passes from the previous weeks. No new content areas or class releases were confirmed for this cycle.

EVE Online

EVE Online's week centred on continued refinement of the Cradle of War expansion's Military Campaigns, with the second round of objective adjustments going live via the rolling patch notes.

A second adjustment to Military Campaigns objectives went live on 25 June: the rate of individual contribution to community-level progress has been increased, rewards per contribution have gone up, and the overall total contributions needed have come down further. The two-part adjustment is described as a calibration against actual participation data from the campaign's first fortnight. Full notes on the EVE Online site.
Federation Day content: Pride of the Federation SKINs, the Federation Day Celebration Crate, and the Gallente Pilot Expert System are available to claim until 23:59 UTC on 26 June. A PLEX sale has been running alongside the expansion launch window.

Broader Genre News

RuneScape: Dragonwilds — Final EA Update Live

RuneScape: Dragonwilds' final Early Access content update (version 0.12) went live on 23 June, building on 0.12.0.4, which addressed several known issues with the Umbral Sands quest content. This is the last major content addition before the 1.0 launch on 15 September across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The 1.0 build will include the full Scorned Wilderness update and the Umbral Sands expansion. The current EA update is tracked on Steam.

Guild Wars Reforged — First Skill Balance Update

Guild Wars Reforged — the mobile Guild Wars franchise entry that launched 24 June — received its first skill balance update on 24 June, less than 24 hours after launch. The update addressed what the development team described as an old meta imbalance, particularly around Mesmer domination magic skills (Energy Surge and Cry of Frustration received significant damage nerfs) and Elementalist buffs (Double Dragon cooldown reduction and damage increase). The speed of the post-launch balance pass reflects a live-service approach; community discussion covers both the responsiveness and the question of whether some changes were sufficiently telegraphed before launch.

SWTOR 8.0 — Autumn 2026

Community commentary has been pointing toward SWTOR Update 8.0 arriving in autumn 2026, introducing the new planet Rilot, dynamic events, a level cap increase from 80 to 85, and a new story chapter. The update would represent the most significant content delivery since Legacy Reborn. No official announcement or date has been confirmed by Broadsword at the time of writing.

Neverwinter

Neverwinter continues with Module 33 content active. Following last week's developer response video addressing community concerns about Mythic Companion Gear and access to the Celestial Shirt and Pants, no further official communication has been published this week. The implementation timeline for the dungeon vendor additions remains unconfirmed.

Looking Ahead

The week ending 27 June has been about anticipation as much as current content: OSRS's Blood Moon Rises arrives Tuesday, WoW's 12.1 PTR is in its testing phase with dungeon content rolling out through July, and ESO's Season 1 follows on 8 July. The days immediately ahead are as loaded as any in the genre this year.

ESO's Season 1 on 8 July deserves particular attention — it is the first time the game has launched a 'season' in the structural sense, bringing the Thieves Guild revival content and the Nowhere Vault. The success of the season framing will shape Zenimax's approach to Update 52 and beyond. At the same time, the Update 51 PTS (delayed to 27 July) means the Warden rework remains some weeks away from community testing. It is a gap that Warden players will feel acutely, given how long the delay has already run.

GW2's July 14 balance patch is the most significant scheduled change in that game for some time. The Weaver rework, in particular, has generated substantial discussion — it has a fundamentally different rotation structure from the current one, and the community's verdict on whether it translates well in practice will be the real test. The concurrent Fractal Rush event gives Fractals players a useful simultaneous reason to log in. For OSRS, Blood Moon Rises is the headline, but the Wyrmscraig blog confirmed late July as the follow-up — July is shaping up to be a strong month for both RuneScape games.

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