The continent is split into a number of provinces inhabited by humans and humanoid fantasy races such as elves, orcs and anthropomorphic animals.
The setting combines pre-medieval real-world elements, such as a powerful Roman-like Empire, with high fantasy medieval themes, including limited technology, widespread magic use, and the existence of many mythological creatures. Within the series' fictional universe, each game takes place on the continent of Tamriel. The series has sold more than 58 million copies worldwide. Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim all won Game of the Year awards from multiple outlets. The series focuses on free-form gameplay in an open world. The Elder Scrolls is a media franchise of action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.