The Elder Scrolls is a series of action role-playing open world video games created by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. These games are set in the fictional world of Nirn, on the continent of Tamriel. The first game, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, was released in 1994. Initially, it was designed for players to take on the role of an arena combatant, but the game evolved into a role-playing game (RPG), a format that continued throughout the series. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall was released in 1996 and featured one of the first large-scale 3D game worlds, said to be as large as Great Britain. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, released in 2002, returned to expansive, non-linear gameplay and included more detailed landscapes, though the game world was smaller than previous titles. By mid-2005, the game had sold over four million copies. Two expansions, Tribunal and Bloodmoon, were released between 2002 and 2003.

Development of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion began in 2002 and focused on improving artificial intelligence that interacts with the game world in real-time. Released in 2006, the game was commercially successful and received critical praise. Two expansion packs, Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles, were later released. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim followed in November 2011 and was also critically acclaimed. Unlike Oblivion, Skyrim does not directly follow its story but instead takes place 200 years later in the region of Skyrim on Tamriel. Three expansions—Dawnguard, Dragonborn, and Hearthfire—were released for the game.

The Elder Scrolls Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by ZeniMax Online Studios, was announced on May 3, 2012. It is the first open-world multiplayer game in the series, and most of the continent of Tamriel is playable in the game. The game was being developed for 5 years before its release on April 4, 2014.