Exclusive: Bethesda to Announce Elder Scrolls MMO in May

News
By published

Bethesda and ZeniMax are hard at work on a new MMO, and it's taking you back to the world of Skyrim, Oblivion and Morrowind.

While details are still few and far between, Tom’s has learned that ZeniMax Online Studios and Bethesda will officially announce Elder Scrolls Online in May 2012.

Elder Scrolls Online will have three playable factions, according to the tipster. Not much is known about the factions, except each is represented by one of three animals: A lion, a dragon, and a bird of prey (either a phoenix or an eagle, we aren’t sure).

A May 2012 announcement would likely be followed by some sort of presence at E3, the annual Los Angeles video game convention. The game would also be shown at Quakecon 2012 in August, along with id Software’s Doom 4 and several other titles.

The fact that ZeniMax and Bethesda are working on an MMO is hardly a secret, as related job postings have been on ZeniMax’s website for quite some time now. What remained unknown until now was the universe in which this MMO would take place. While some were certainly hoping for a Fallout MMO of some sort - a game that ZeniMax and Bethesda control the publishing rights for – that is not to be the case.

When Tom’s reached out for confirmation, the response from ZeniMax and Bethesda was a “no comment.” We will update this article as more information comes in.

Follow Devin Connors on Twitter

Devin Connors

Devin Connors currently works as a community manager for Rocket League at Psyonix Studios, but he was previously a senior editor at Tom's Guide, writing about gaming, phones, and pretty much every other tech category. His work has also appeared in publications including Shacknews, GameZone, The Escapist, Machinima, and more. 

76 Comments Comment from the forums
  • zachusaman
    woooo another waste of money by bethesda to shrivel and die...
    how about instead of pursuing these stupid MMO ideas, you actually focus on what you have going for you right now?
    Reply
  • Elder Scrolls? Like that card game? LOL
    Reply
  • Tab54o
    zachusamanwoooo another waste of money by bethesda to shrivel and die... how about instead of pursuing these stupid MMO ideas, you actually focus on what you have going for you right now?
    Because when they do it right it works and if no one tries then we'll never get decent mmos anymore. I say let them do what they want. I prefer online games anyway. Single player rpgs just get so boring.
    Reply
  • robwright
    Hot damn!!! This could be VERY interesting...
    Reply
  • Lewis57
    Hmmh, without trying to sound like negative nancy here; I can't imagine this would be very good. Considering every game by bethesda always feels rushed and unfinished, it's always left to the modders to fix the problems. An mmo can only mean closed down, meaning no modding community to fall upon.
    Reply
  • alidan
    Tab54oBecause when they do it right it works and if no one tries then we'll never get decent mmos anymore. I say let them do what they want. I prefer online games anyway. Single player rpgs just get so boring.
    yea when you beat everything and do every quest and hit the absolute end game, single player rpgs are very boreing... mmos are to once you hit the end game and do every quest ( that you can do)
    Reply
  • tokencode
    I think the Elder Scrolls games are excellent; however this is BECAUSE they are single player. Bethesda better consult with Blizzard to get some of their game-play balancing right, with their track record I would guess this will be ripe with bugs/imbalances. In a single player you're only cheating yourself, in an MMO cheating will negatively impact other peoples' experiences.
    Reply
  • alidan
    Lewis57Hmmh, without trying to sound like negative nancy here; I can't imagine this would be very good. Considering every game by bethesda always feels rushed and unfinished, it's always left to the modders to fix the problems. An mmo can only mean closed down, meaning no modding community to fall upon.
    to their credit, skyrim was interesting, and interesting for longer than oblivion... where as oblivion needed mods before i called it playable, skyrim is out of the box, and mods enhance it.
    Reply
  • zybch
    Screw you WoW!!
    Reply
  • omega21xx
    Surprise, after how many times they said "we won't do an online Elder scrolls or Fallout game, because it's just not our style"

    That aside, I'm really looking forward to an Elder Scrolls MMO as this may actually get me to play an MMO for more than a week. I hope they come out with a Fallout MMO (or didn't force the one being made to be stopped).
    2 universes I've always felt that, if done correctly, could be better online.
    Reply