From Westeros to Earthsea, here are the 10 greatest fantasy world maps!
By Ashley Hurst
9. Tamriel from the Elder Scrolls franchise
Not all beloved fantasy worlds originate in novels. Many were created with the intention of having a player adventure in a virtual world. There are plenty of examples of wondrous epic fantasy maps in various video game franchises: Dragon Age, The Witcher (they were novels first, of course), Hyrule from The Legend of Zelda, and countless others. New games keep coming thick and fast!
Perhaps one of the most instantly recognizable fantasy worlds for gamers is the map of Skyrim, just one province of Tamriel — a continent of Nirn — from Bethesda’s beloved Elder Scrolls franchise. Most gamers know about Elder Scrolls from Skyrim alone, which had an enormous map. It has a bit of everything, from high mountaintops to dense forests, kingdoms, and a labyrinth of dungeons. Even though it was released a decade ago in 2011, the game still gets updated for new consoles, and gamers continue to find new stories within the rich world.
Skyrim is just a portion of Tamriel. The continent is split into nine unique provinces including Skyrim, Cyrodiil, Hammerfell, Black Marsh, Elsweyr, High Rock, Morrowind, the Summerset Isles, and Valenwood. This franchise stretches way back to 1994’s Arena. Over the years, each game has focused on another part of Tamriel, creating a rich experience for fantasy fans. If you have Elder Scrolls Online, you can traverse most of the continent.
It’s currently unknown where the next game, Elder Scrolls 6, will be set. It’s been in the works for a long time. A year ago, Bethesda offered us a first look at the map, which is all we have so far:
Between this and The Winds of Winter, the wait for the sixth installment of things always seems to be the hardest.