Mac PC Play The Elder Scrolls Online

The Elder Scrolls Online: The world of Skyrim gets an MMO in 2013

by — May 3, 2012 1:21 pm

It’s been rumored for many years, and now it’s finally happening: The venerable role-playing game series The Elder Scrolls (which has produced hits over the years like Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim) will go online with a massively multi-player online game (MMO) called The Elder Scrolls Online. The game is set for an unspecified 2013 release date on PC and Mac.

The publisher followed up with the first trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online, along with a handful of details about the gameplay and the setting.

The Elder Scrolls games have been standard setters for open-ended, single-player role-playing since the series debuted on the PC in 1994. Each title in the main series of games has been more popular than the last, culminating last year in the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which has shipped more than 10 million copies to date.

Despite its single-player pedigree, the franchise is the perfect match for the MMO genre because of its heavy time investment and open-ended gameplay, which emphasizes exploration. The 800-pound gorilla in the MMO genre is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, which has 10 million paying subscribers.

The most notable current rival to World of Warcraft is Star Wars: The Old Republic, from the company responsible for the Mass Effect video game franchise, but The Elder Scrolls Online could pose a threat — especially given that like WoW, it will also be available on the Mac.

Note that The Elder Scrolls Online is in development by a different studio than that which made Skyrim and Oblivion. The development is led by former Dark Age of Camelot designer Matt Firor. Few details been revealed, but a teaser trailer is expected to hit the web tomorrow.

Since it’s a PC and Mac game, you can expect it to be available as a digital download on day one.

Source: Game Informer

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Author: Samuel Axon is the founder and editor of The Interactive. He has covered entertainment, media and technology as a writer, editor and web producer for Mashable, Engadget, Joystiq, Tecca, Yahoo! News, CNN, The AV Club, Nerve and many others.
  • http://bottleupthecrazy.com/ Jenn

    This makes me a ridiculous kind of happy.

  • http://twitter.com/SmileyMark Mark Smiley

    It was good in single player cant wait for online …

  • DCBSupafly

    That’s the worst news in a while.  Does Bethesda have an Elder Scrolls title too?

  • MadAtBethesda

    wow seriously? This is outrageous Bethesda allows mods on PC but not on xbox, I was fine with that. But I have been waiting for an online Elder Scrolls for over 5 years, and they just announce that this is only for PC, screw you Bethesda.

    • :)

      dude what do u whant at xbox u have halo 3 , halo reach & now halo 4 …. time to get out something that is not for xbox

  • Bob

    @ab64e68a5b730c0ff831012b13207762:disqus Why don’t you just bootcamp your mac…? It’s a hassle, yes, but doable. My Mac runs PC games better than some average PC’s I’ve seen… Regardless, don’t be mad at Bethesda if you’re hell-bent on blaming someone. ZeniMax Online (a partner of Bethesda and both subsidiaries of ZeniMax Media) is producing TES: Online. Find yourself a way to get Windows on your Mac, or wait for them to decide to release it for Mac. 
    @3a3b83639f3a5049bf612ba26e6c2dca:disqus Bethesda produced Arena, Daggerfall, Battlespire, Redguard, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim… ZeniMax Online has produced none, this is it’s first.

    • DCBSupafly

      Right, but does Bethesda have another Elder Scrolls in the works some day, or does TES go the way of KOTOR?  Can’t I just have one single-player, mod-devoted RPG franchise without the hyped up world of MMO junking it up?

      • RA

        On the official website it says TES Online will run on either a Mac or a PC.

  • B_Rush

    The Elder Scrolls needs to seriously install an online to the console versions as well. That’s a whole other market of people dying to have some online fun with their buddies in the world of Cyrodill.

    • http://theinteractive.com/ Samuel Axon

      I think they’d love to but there are technical limitations and access restrictions in Xbox Live and PlayStation Network that prevent them from doing so. When I wrote for massively.com I interviewed the Age of Conan (another MMO) staff and they said they canceled their plans to port to Xbox 360 because Xbox Live wouldn’t support it.

      The PS3 is a little more open to this but only for first-party; you may have noticed that the only PS3 MMOs (Free Realms, DCUO) were made by internal Sony studios.

      cc @ab64e68a5b730c0ff831012b13207762:disqus The above, plus the same goes for mods — at least of the depth that the PC gets. Just not possible in the current console framework. I think we’ll see improvement on both sides in the upcoming consoles, but for now it’s not Bethesda’s fault, it’s Microsoft and Sony’s. :(

      • http://www.facebook.com/mark.davis.129 Mark Davis

        If you could manage to sway Microsoft on how this new gaming experience could not only make a short-term profit; but not to mention the stock increase they could recieve. Today’s PC community is solely the largest and main gaming community, but I would seriously get Microsoft to think critically on this opportunity. Look at the stats, I bought Oblivion years after it’s release date and was still astonished by the gaming experience. This game you are building up and so excited about really will create a huge crowd, not only from this generation, but as well as the next generation; it’s a long term for sure/safe and definite means of profit. i assure you that I will buy the game for counsel, but if its for PC, then i am not for this game.

        • Moloc

          Well Microsoft is already going to have it’s hands in the cookie jar here regardless due to their PC market.

          I would agree with the above post though. There is just more room to work with through pc/mac for the game play than there is through the consoles. Limited keys means limited functions, (I would assume) limited bandwidth/console memory to be able to support the “shard-less” (single server) game play, a long with the graphics and then throw in the amount of players which will be playing at any given time. I don’t think the ps3 or the 360 could find a way to support the game with out diminishing one aspect or more put out by the computer versions.

      • http://www.facebook.com/daniel.hammons.9 Daniel Hammons

        that is a bunch of crock with the technology we have today anything is possible
        they just choose not to do it

    • MiniMeth

      and by that you mean and online version of oblivion? cause that takes place in Cyrodiil… unless you meant all of Tamriel ofcourse

  • http://www.facebook.com/mark.davis.129 Mark Davis

    As long as it is compatible with counsel as well those of us who sit tighter with a big screen and controller. Thats what I recommend.

  • Dingus

    You can play DC Universe Online on consoles; Why not ESO???

  • http://www.facebook.com/jessica.zickefoose Jessica Zickefoose

    First off.. THIS IS AWESOME!
    Second, do you realize how much work it is to put a game like this together? Think about how much time it takes to do this plus the normal games that they put out on all consoles. Their a very busy team, give them some time and stop being whiny little bitches. You all sound like babies. Get over yourselves. I’d like to see you do what they do faster and made to fit easily and compatibly with all gaming formats..
    Besides, everyone know if you aim to make the most beautiful and amazing game that is going to be appreciated the most, you make it for PC. ;)

  • emrogo

    why isnt it coming to xbox and ps3?

  • http://www.facebook.com/rai.benjamin Rai Benjamin

    I’m so ridiculously excited with this game, hope it doesn’t disapoint me… As for who wants it on consoles, an MMO of this magnitude, would be too much for PSN and XBOX Live.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000927026336 Manny Prieto

    Is there gonna be any console online gameplay? id love to have a good console mmo game

  • Doug Andrews

    If it’s by a different studio, then don’t bother as they will make changes that will likely be negative and make this game pose no threat in the gaming industry at all! Won’t be the same as what we have come to expect, so prepare for the game to suck!