Elder Scrolls Online Rated M; Bethesda Won't Compromise

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

The "M" rating should come as no surprise.

World of Warcraft is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. Star Wars: The Old Republic and EverQuest II are also rated "T." Even Dungeons & Dragons Online is rated "T." But what does Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls Online receive? An "M" rating, and the studio has no plans to fight it.

"While we may disagree with the ESRB's determination, we do not plan to challenge the rating, and we are unwilling to change the game's content to achieve a different rating. The game we have created is the one we want our fans to be able to play," reads the company's Facebook page.

This should be both discouraging and welcomed news by many fans. Discouragement because of the age requirement tacked onto M-rated games. Good news because it means Bethesda is staying true to the original concept, and has no plans to water down the Elder Scrolls cup in order for it to be palatable for everyone to sip.

Let's also not forget that both Oblivion and Skyrim have an "M" rating, whereas Morrowind and older are branded with the "T" rating. That said, the ESRB's mighty stamp on the MMORPG's hide shouldn't be all that surprising.

"As a result of the ESRB rating, we are in the process of promptly updating everything with the required rating and age gates, including game trailers, web sites, and ads. Thanks for your understanding. We can't wait to welcome players into The Elder Scrolls Online soon," the company adds.

In addition to its stance regarding the MSRB rating, Bethesda also revealed on Thursday an all-star cast that will lend their voices to characters in the game. These include Academy Award nominee John Cleese ("A Fish Called Wanda," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"), Golden Globe winner Bill Nighy ("Pirates of the Caribbean"), Kate Beckinsale ("The Aviator," "Pearl Harbor"), Alfred Molina ("Spider-Man 2") and Golden Globe nominees Michael Gambon ("Harry Potter"), and Malcolm McDowell ("A Clockwork Orange").

In addition, Lynda Carter ("Wonder Woman") returns to the Elder Scrolls series to reprise her role from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

"This extraordinary group of actors helps bring the distinctive characters in The Elder Scrolls Online to life," said Matt Firor, game director of The Elder Scrolls Online. "In The Elder Scrolls tradition, we sought world class talent to add a deep and enriching component to the immersive world the series offers players."

The Elder Scrolls Online is being developed for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Mac by ZeniMax Online Studios.

Kevin Parrish
42 Comments Comment from the forums
  • edogawa
    These ratings are fully irrelevant. Kids/teens will get their hands on them anyway.
    Reply
  • tobalaz
    Age restriction?!
    Seriously?!
    What I'd give for a game without kinds mucking it up.
    Reply
  • bryonhowley
    Just to bad it is a piece of crap multiplayer. I have no use what so ever for any multiplayer only game and never will. I feel this will be the end of yet another great game franchise destroyed by this kind of mutilation!
    Reply
  • wemakeourfuture
    These ratings are fully irrelevant. Kids/teens will get their hands on them anyway.
    The ratings are they for parents to know the content in the game. Its up to parents on how they wish to enforce things.Its like cigarettes or alcohol, You don't necessarily legalize it for kids since some may "get their hands on them anyway." ,,,
    Reply
  • toddybody
    I hope they add further realism in the violence if theyre being shackled with "M" anyways.
    Reply
  • falchard
    ESRB ratings mean nothing since its completely voluntary. Especially if you do not plan to distribute through retail outlets. The main thing it does is protect you from lawsuits.Its not like Alcohol or Cigarettes, there is no government mandated restrictions on age for video games. Same applies to movies.I think Bethesda was wondering how they can waste more money on the title, so they hired some actors instead of 50 people off the street.
    Reply
  • edogawa
    12519161 said:
    These ratings are fully irrelevant. Kids/teens will get their hands on them anyway.
    The ratings are they for parents to know the content in the game. Its up to parents on how they wish to enforce things.Its like cigarettes or alcohol, You don't necessarily legalize it for kids since some may "get their hands on them anyway." ,,,

    True enough, but violence or sexual content in games are not something most parents will see as harmful to a child as it's not physical like cigarettes or alcohol. Most parents don't really realize what these ratings are too, plus kids or teens can get a hold of games so much more easy than a smoke or a drink.

    Things have changed these days. Gaming was much less violent in the days of Mario and Zelda, but today it's very violent and sexualized when may have some impact on kids mentally.

    These ratings are definitely unnecessary and irrelevant which is shown by the developer as they know full well an M rating will not affect sales more than 0.001%; this is a good thing to as developers should not be get rid of content for a rating. It's a bit silly too that games where you kill people and monsters violently is not mature rated anyway.
    Reply
  • coffeecoffee
    That's exactly what I was thinking. It's fairly common for kids in middle school (grade 6-8) to play Skyrim these days. While I'm sure these ratings can make or break a game (to a certain degree), it's still largely irrelevant. What's relevant is Bethesda staying true to their game. Game on~
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    These ratings are fully irrelevant. Kids/teens will get their hands on them anyway.
    Good. I am glad I was not restricted by these BS ratings as a kid. Much less time to game nowadays, wouldn't have played all the games I played without ratings. GTA series, for instance - why do I have to be 16-18 to play that? I was 12 when I started with GTA3 and would have played Vice City and SA too back then if they ran on my laptop - had to wait till 15 till I had a more capable one. To be honest, GTA was extremely helpful in helping me learn English. I spit on all the stupid "ratings" - why is it okay to show violent and morally wrong crap on TV but not okay for kids to play GTA (in most cases much less violent than some TV stuff)?
    t's fairly common for kids in middle school (grade 6-8) to play Skyrim these days.
    Grade 6-8? What's that age group, 13-15 years old? I played Morrowind when I was 15, I don't see why Skyrim isn't appropriate for that age.
    Reply
  • brandonjclark
    This should upset all five people interested in this game.
    Reply