The Elder Scrolls Online Contest Winner Announced

You might remember that ZeniMax Online launched a giveaway for The Elder Scrolls Online last December, and that its grand prize was $1 million (or, to be more precise, $50,000 a year for 20 years). Well, it’s been a while, but now we know who actually won the grand prize. It’s a Californian 30 year old man named Ryan Rager, who will use part of that sum to finally plan his marriage with his fiancée: 

(Never in a million years,) laughs Ryan Rager. The 30-year-old from Costa Mesa, CA, recently learned he won a million dollars the grand prize in The Elder Scrolls Online #MillionReasonsToPlay campaign. (No pun intended,) he quickly adds. (But I was playing every chance I could at the time and thought, Why not give it a go?)

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While others have forged lifelong friendships and even found love in Tamriel, Rager can credit ESO for helping him level up his real-world relationship. (My fiancée and I have been engaged for four years now,) he says. (The main reason for the long engagement was needing to save for the big day. We now can say this year is the year. It’s very exciting.) Not only will they now get married and splurge on a honeymoon, but Rager also has one big purchase in mind: (I’m thinking a new TV for my Xbox is in order,) he smiles.

I can’t help but wonder how much success the initiative had and whether it helped put The Elder Scrolls Online back on the MMO map. Even just a cursory look at the state of the game right now makes it clear that the developers have attempted to improve the game and make it more palatable to its audience, though it’s impossible to tell whether that worked out at the moment.