Unable to load skin.

[BluntMethod]

I recently reinstalled ESO and when I click play on steam a little popup comes up that says "unable to load skin" and I can't launch the launcher or play the game. I've tried all the official troubleshooting steps I've found and have had no luck but I'm hoping maybe someone on here has had or even better fixed a similar issue.

[Wolfrick]

same happend to me....

[Paffinz]

Its been unplayable for me. Spent hours troubleshooting and messing with files. I am going to ahve to cancel my eso + sub and kiss all my money, hours, and characters goodbye. Infuriating doesn't describe the feeling.

[johare]

same here. a completely fresh install on a new Alienware, and it cant handle getting that right ?

[MISO4EVER]

If you updated the launcher ? I know they are doing a new launcher … might he issues with that I think they are rolling them over seas first so if your in the USA prob not your issue.

[Korvenwin]

I'm having the same issue. I was thinking to return to the game after 150h but I can't. I think that I will spend my time (and money) on other MMORPG

[chris.houg]

I'm having the same issue. Renaming the launcher/ProgramData directory and then rebooting the computer would allow it to load, but, if I close the launcher reload, then I get the skin loading error again. Now, it won't run at all.

[Crunch Berries]

Same "Unable to load skin" issue here. I have an open ticket with Zenimax and no response for almost two weeks, now.

[Nade]

I have been having this issue almost every time I want to play the game but there is a fix. It's a really annoying fix but basically every time I run into the Unable to Load skin I have to browse the local files and delete the Bethesda Launcher. Then when i hit play on steam it reinstalls that missing portion and usually works. If it doesn't work immediately, I follow it with a restart on my computer and then it works.

It only happens on my main pc and not on my laptop. I don't know why this happens it makes no sense.

[Crunch Berries]

Originally posted by Nade:

I have been having this issue almost every time I want to play the game but there is a fix. It's a really annoying fix but basically every time I run into the Unable to Load skin I have to browse the local files and delete the Bethesda Launcher. Then when i hit play on steam it reinstalls that missing portion and usually works. If it doesn't work immediately, I follow it with a restart on my computer and then it works.

It only happens on my main pc and not on my laptop. I don't know why this happens it makes no sense.

Thank you, Nade, but unfortunately that doesn't resolve the issue for me. I still get the same "unable to load skin" message. What's worse, I've heard nothing from Zenimax support in three weeks- they haven't touched my ticket.

[chris.houg]

I've found that if I reboot my computer after receiving the error, then the launcher will run. Instead of closing the launcher, I just minimize it when I'm not using it and the game always loads fine, though I get an occasional error after exiting the game (quitting normally, waiting for the countdown and let it exit) that the game crashed or the launcher failed.

[Cos]

This is also happening to me. Ive seached everywhere for an answer. None are anywhere. Zos wont reply or help to fix it. The only way ive found to get it to work is, i started a different game download on steam and went back to eso and clicked play. It instantly worked after i started to download another game. Hope this works for you all as well.

[linuxpng]

If you have an intel 13th or 14th gen CPU getting this error it might be related to degradation. IDK why starting the launcher would cause the problem, but I used Intel XTU to back down my multiplier by 200mhz and it stops producing the error. I can nearly 100% reproduce the issue by pushing the multiplier back to stock (58x for my 13900kf).

If anyone is following the Intel fiasco I have the first microcode update which affected thermal velocity boost 0x125 but obviously do not have the second microcode we are waiting for. If this resolves this for you, it goes without saying that your CPU is degraded and need a new one after the second microcode update.

[Crunch Berries]

Someone at Zenimax suggested I tried disabling Intel SpeedStep and SpeedShift in the BIOS. This resolved the "unable to load skin" issue for me. I had to disable both- with only one enabled, the issue returned intermittently. I have a 13th Gen CPU; this does not bode well for my CPU, sadly.

[linuxpng]

Originally posted by Crunch Berries:

Someone at Zenimax suggested I tried disabling Intel SpeedStep and SpeedShift in the BIOS. This resolved the "unable to load skin" issue for me. I had to disable both- with only one enabled, the issue returned intermittently. I have a 13th Gen CPU; this does not bode well for my CPU, sadly.

Both of those are fairly big performance hits. Installing Intel XTU and lowering the multiplier by 2 or 3 will be a less dramatic drop. If you're satisfied with the performance you get with them disabled feel free to ignore.

[Crunch Berries]

Originally posted by linuxpng:

Originally posted by Crunch Berries:

Someone at Zenimax suggested I tried disabling Intel SpeedStep and SpeedShift in the BIOS. This resolved the "unable to load skin" issue for me. I had to disable both- with only one enabled, the issue returned intermittently. I have a 13th Gen CPU; this does not bode well for my CPU, sadly.

Both of those are fairly big performance hits. Installing Intel XTU and lowering the multiplier by 2 or 3 will be a less dramatic drop. If you're satisfied with the performance you get with them disabled feel free to ignore.

Thank you for the advice- I'll look into that!