Bethesda's Pete Hines defends the Elder Scrolls Online subscription model in a recent interview, indicating that the $14.99 per month fee will be a "value proposition." He said the team feels pretty strongly about the support gamers will receive as well as what they will get with those dollars.
"We're also very confident in our ability to support it with content," he told GameSpot. "And not content of the magnitude of, it's a new month, here's a new sword or here's a funny hat -- but content that is real and significant and it feels like regular and consistent DLC releases."
Hines also noted that Elder Scrolls Online is built in a way that everyone playing needs the same content installed in order for players to interact with each other. There are no zones set aside for free players and no "premium" zones set aside for subscribers. Either gamers are all in, or they are not, he said.
"We're not trying to make a game that everybody who plays games will automatically buy," he said. "It is a certain kind of game. There's no shooter elements. There's no aliens. It is a massive, 'Go where you want, do what you want' game that we think offers the kind of experience that's worthy of a subscription."
"We're not going to make a lesser game that might be more palatable," he added. "We want to do the version that we think is the best game and the coolest experience. And that means putting a lot of people and a lot of content creators towards having stuff that comes out regularly; every four weeks, five weeks, six weeks. Big new stuff that you want to do."
The Elder Scrolls Online is scheduled to launch on PC and Mac in April. The game will also launch on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in June.
