Confirmed: The Elder Scrolls Online Arrives in 2013

The June issue of Game Informer will officially spill the beans on Bethesda's worst-kept secret - something that we told you about back in March - The Elder Scrolls Online. That's right: the studio's beloved franchise is moving into MMO territory, allowing gamers to wander across the entire land of Tamriel a thousand years before the events of Skyrim with other players. It will be a time of adventure, excitement, and certain doom as the daedric prince Molag Bal tries to pull all of Tamriel into his demonic realm.

"We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted," director Matt Firor said in a press release on Thursday. "It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise."

Firor previously worked on Mythic's fantasy MMORPG, Dark Age of Camelot.

The game is actually under development by the team at Zenimax Online Studios, and is scheduled to arrive on PC and Mac platforms in 2013. Naturally little else will be released about the upcoming MMOG until the article hits newsstands later this month. However both a teaser trailer and screenshot will be released by Game Informer on Friday, leading up to the full disclosure.

In the upcoming article, Game Informer will reportedly offer an in-depth look at everything, ranging from solo questing to exploring in public dungeons. Also covered will be a peek at the player-driven PvP conflict that "pits the three player factions against each other in open-world warfare over the province of Cyrodiil and the Emperor's throne itself."

"Over the course of the month, be sure to visit our Elder Scrolls Online hub, which will feature new exclusive content multiple times each week," Game Informer states. "You'll meet the three player factions, see video interviews with the creative leads, and much more."

The Elder Scrolls Online, the first Elder Scrolls game to allow gamers to explore the legendary Elder Scrolls world with others, will be featured on additional magazine covers across Europe and in online stories in the coming months which will provide gamers with more information about this exciting title, Bethesda said on Thursday.

  • DirectXtreme
    So will this game actually be bug-free?
    Reply
  • thety6on
    directxtremeSo will this game actually be bug-free?
    It was made by Bethesda, so expect the initial release to be bugged.
    Reply
  • jjrambo
    Finally, been waiting since oblivion for something like this.
    Reply
  • dheadley
    Why would it be bug-free? No other MMO has ever been so far, why would they want break the mold now?
    Reply
  • alidan
    oblivion was only tollarable with mods, skyrim was better, but mods ad so much to the game... so much that should have been there from day 1.

    online... oh hell no
    tell me... does this mean no expansive content for skyrim? less life span in house?
    and will there be another single player elder scrolls... because honestly... i dont want to play this game online or with friends.
    Reply
  • SchizoFrog
    Hopefully this will coincide with the next gen consoles so we won't see too much of a graphics hit. Not sure I would want to take a step or two backwards after spending so many hours within Skyrim.

    My main concern is what the missions end up like. If they end up like Skyrim after you kill Alduin then it's gonna be rather easy, menial and mundane. However, if they can keep the core content lively then I can see the franchise going far...
    Reply
  • rhsnipes
    Wonder if the core mechanics are the same. They gonna bring back the lock spell?
    Reply
  • killerclick
    Noooo, I don't want to play with other people, stop trying to make me play my favorite games with other people! I didn't buy TOR, I'm not going to buy this, even though there probably won't be any more single player Elder Scrolls.
    Reply
  • dormantreign
    This as the potential to be really good! Kinda looking forward to seeing what they are going to do with it.
    Reply
  • proxy711
    alidandoes this mean no expansive content for skyrim? less life span in house? and will there be another single player elder scrolls... because honestly... i dont want to play this game online or with friends.If ESO comes out in 2013 there's been a different group designing it, then the Devs working on skyrim. You can't make a MMO in a year.

    No one is forcing you to play this game. Don't want a ES MMO, dont play it.
    Reply