The Elder Scrolls Online game director Matt Firor has spoken at length about what comes next for the online game.
Matt starts by acknowledging the launch and Zenimax's immediate move to fix all the issues that popped up, with five major updates that also brought new content and gameplay changes.
The next major update comes this January, and will bring two new features, the Champion System and the Justice System.
The Champion system brings 50 veteran progression changes, the groundwork of which was already established via updates 4 and 5. Now, points can be used for Champion Passives, and many abilities have been modified accordingly.
Meanwhile, the Justice system is in its initial integration phase here. This version of the Justice system adds PvE elements reminiscent of Skyrim. You will be able to steal, pickpocket, and kill NPCs, and subsequently receive punishment from the guards, but without worrying about the Enforcer system from PvP.
Adding the Justice system in means that the game will be changed at its very core. For example, items that you used to be able to take freely are now stolen. The townspeople can now be subject to getting stolen from and killed, and the game will even have fences now, who will sell you illicit goods.
Now, Zenimax has not stopped working on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 ports of their games, but those ports have still not released because they are working on parity. Not only have the console versions been reworked from the ground up to better fit console controls, but they will release with Champion and Justice systems built in. Zenimax promises news about these ports in early 2015.
The size of this update also means that Imperial City PvP will have to wait a little bit longer, so if you were looking forward to that, you will just have to sit tight for now.