ZeniMax Online's subscription model for The Elder Scrolls Online is coming to a close, much to no one's surprise, and it will be making the switch to free-to-play in mid-March. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited is the re-release of the MMO, and all PC gamers will get a free upgrade March 17th. From then on only a one-time purchase is needed to play.
It's been long rumoured that ZeniMax Online will admit defeat and unveil that The Elder Scrolls Online just isn't working as a monthly subscription MMO and will instead be relaunched free-to-play. More evidence begins to mount. According to sources, Australia's EB Games is to no longer stock physical copies of The Elder Scrolls Online, which makes sense as its packaging would be inaccurate and therefore illegal.
Work on fan-made Morrowind-into-Skyrim mod Skywind continues apace, and the team behind the ambitious project have just released a new trailer showing off one of the regions players will be able to hunt mudcrabs in. The region in question is the island chain of Sheogorad, which looks a bit... brown. That's okay though! It fits in perfectly with Morrowind's grimy, ash-strewn aesthetic.
There are two or three mods for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that I've had my eye on for a while, but somehow the insanely ambitious total conversion Enderal – The Shards of Order skipped me by. Until the team behind the sequel to Oblivion's Nehrim: At Fate’s Edge released a trailer showing off visual design, gameplay and world-building worthy of any Elder Scrolls game. It's pretty great.
ZeniMax Online is getting ready for the Champion System and the Justice System to be introduced to The Elder Scrolls Online early next year. The next huge update will hit the PTS in January. Post-level 50 veteran progression changes are on the horizon and so is theft and even murder of NPCs. It'll be introduced in phases, meaning it's purely a PvE affair for now.
Bethesda has just dashed hopes that The Game Awards 2014 would be hosting some of their yet-to-be-revealed gems, like a certain Fallout in the works, or more dabbling with ancient scrolls. Instead they said their presence is in support of MachineGames, developer of Wolfenstein: The New Order. It's disappointing news indeed, so let's hope others can make up for it.
My experience of Dwemer Spheres in Elder Scrolls games has not been entirely positive, the nasty little mechanical sods. Hopefully fans who've spent a lot of time playing The Elder Scrolls Online feel differently. Developer Zenimax Online has announced that anyone who's played the fantasy MMO for six months or longer will unlock their very own Sphere as a vanity pet.
If, like me, you're one of those hopeless nerds who actually takes a break from dragon fighting and dungeon delving in Skyrim to read all the virtual lore books in your backpack, this might interest you. Bethesda has announced two physical book series that will fill in the ludicrously detailed history of Tamriel, the continent in which the Elder Scrolls games take place. Note that these aren't recreations of the actual in-game books, but entirely new creations.
This one could turn into quite a bit of trouble, but Majestic Studios title Limbo of the Lost has been reviewed by gaming site GamePlasma, and they claim that it has stolen some of the level design structures from The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.
While speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Bethesda's Paul Oughton has revealed that the developer is hoping there new Elder Scrolls will arrive in two years. He also explained that while the Nintendo Wii and DS have made great strides, Bethesda is still "not that interested" at the moment; Xbox 360, PS3 and PC is where it's at.
Bethesda's Peter Hines has said they aren't planning "anytime soon" to make an announcement on the "next big project". The only thing going for Oblivion fans wanting a sequel right now are two novels in the pipeline, with 'The Infernal City' by Greg Keyes exploring events after the game's conclusion.
2K Games and Bethesda Softworks announced today that it's teaming up to deliver a value pack containing both Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and BioShock. Beginning July 7, BioShock & The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Bundle will be available in retail stores across North America for $39.99 on Xbox 360 and $29.99 for the PC.
Coming in at a breezy 148 MB, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is now being given away freely by Bethesda, but they warn you "will need" an emulator on new rigs. Remember those days? When a PC gamer only needed 8MB RAM and a 66MHz CPU? The Elder Scrolls have been around now for 15 years. Mind Daggerfall's "sexual themes" won't you?
Recently a speech at QuakeCon led to a snowballing assumption that Bethesda won't be doing another Elder Scrolls, but that "was not a direct quote" says Pete Hines. Bethesda are "going to do another Elder Scrolls", given how "enormously popular" the last one was. As for the Elder Scrolls MMO talk, Todd Howard and team "do not make MMOs".
Developer Bethesda is keeping any activity on a new Elder Scrolls game very close to their chest, but a newly synopsised novel from Greg Keyes has given fans a whooping hint. The Elder Scrolls: Infernal City, Keyes' book, "partly bridges the gap" between Oblivion and the "next game". The events in the novel itself are set 45 years after The Elder Scrolls IV.
The Internet is aflame with talk that studio Bethesda has an Elder Scrolls V announcement wedged deep up their E3 2010 sleeve of mystery. It's all Famitsu's fault as next to Bethesda's E3 slot they put the word "secret" in their latest magazine issue. It's been 4 years since Oblivion.
According to a source that's involved in the next Elder Scrolls development, the title is a "direct sequel to Oblivion" with voice-over work starting. An NDA in place with Bethesda keeps the report from blabbing anymore specifics they've learned about Elder Scrolls V. Will the VGAs hold a reveal?
Finally, The Elder Scrolls V has been revealed, subtitled Skyrim. Platforms aren't known yet, but the trailer gives us an November 11, 2011 release date.
Bethesda has revealed that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will have a new engine, eschewing the old Gamebryo engine that came under criticism for characters that delved into the uncanny valley.
More games to look forward to in Part II of our exclusive feature.