A while ago, Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax was spotted stumbling out of a seedy back alley bar, clutching only a bottle of gin and a domain name -- elderscrollsonline.com. The Internet leapt on this with fervor, eagerly anticipating the news that it could only hope was coming -- an Elder Scrolls MMORPG. Guess what ... the Internet was right about that.
Bethesda's very own Pete Hines has confirmed that yes, an MMORPG installment of the wildly popular Elder Scrolls series is on the way. In the announcement, Hines also stated that the company had already put $300 million into the project -- that's a fair bit o' gold! Said Hines:
I don't think that this funding changes our focus in terms of what we are about and are trying to accomplish. The additional resources will allow us to expand our publishing efforts-both our own titles and those of other studios-and to pursue development of more titles, working with internal and external development teams.
So there you have it. Elder Scrolls Online is a go, and I think it's safe to say that World of Warcraft may have its first legitimate challenge to the MMORPG throne, don't you? We'll see what happens in the future, but for now, Hines is saying nothing else. Personally, I am eager as hell to watch this one develop.
[Thanks Aerox]
[Update: It seems that the original story which Jim sourced in this article jumped to more than a few conclusions. We just got off of the phone with Bethesda's Manager of PR and Marketing Erin Losi, who wanted to clarify a few things.
For one, Bethesda has not announced or confirmed that an Elder Scrolls MMO is in the works. As she points out, the $300 million dollars in question was received by Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media. This money will be invested across a "multititude of projects."
As for the an Elder Scrolls MMO, Losi told us that no such announcement has been made. Looking at the above quote from the original QJ.net story, it appears that some drastic leaps in logic were made to reach conclusion of a "confirmation." Regarding the registered Elder Scrolls Online domain, Losi points out that this is standard practice, where Bethesda will snatch up a number of domains related to their licenses.
We apologize for any confusion we might have caused with this story, and for now, the Elder Scrolls MMO simply doesn't exist. - Nick]
Contest:
2:52 PM on 11.08.2007
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Not that anyone minds.
Seriously though, do want.
I mean, really, holy crap on a stick!
*knew it was coming and is still in shock*
(Does it work in reverse?)
This could be huge. If they replace all the NPCs and businesses and stuff with real life people's characters... shit. This game could replace everything ever.
And there are too many interesting MMOs coming! And less free time to play them...
Jim, no where in the provided link, or THEIR provided link from SPOnG is there a direct confirmation from Hines that this is in fact the game. Seems to be speculating that it's a confirmation. So that headline seems pretty misleading...
No amounts of screaming FUCK YES and DO WANT and HOLY SHIT could amount to the wonder and joy I feel right now. I am that big of an Elder Scrolls whore.
I'd be interested if this set the MMO in the past. Let the players dynamically develop things that would start to show up in the later SP games (i.e. Elder Scrolls V).
Very cool, in any case. I can only hope we can travel back to Morrowind.
Me: I hear you're good with light armor.
Guildie: Wait... What?
Me: Good day.
(BTW, not too excited about the news, seeing from my experience that 90% of all MMO users are absolute dicks)
I've fought mudcrabs more fierce than you!
Hahah
Do want Do Want Do Want.
D#@n You Bethesda! Tell me its true!
And that's a lot.
My list of must haves when I read about it.
1. Call of Duty 4
2. Rock band
3. FallOut 3
4. Gears of War
5. Mass Effect
And now at number SIX
6. Elder Scrolls MMORPG..
Even if it weren't too late for halloween, who wants to dress up as a plant?