Report: Bethesda Working On Elder Scrolls MMO

[JuliusMagnus]

A seperate studio was opened by Zenimax in 2007 (so no milking of Skyrim, but you could say milking of The Elder Scrolls, just as WoW milked Warcraft and The Old Republic milked Star Wars) to run an MMO division: http://www.zenimaxonline.com/

They even opened offices in Ireland for customer support a year ago in May 2011: http://www.zenimaxonline.com/news_ireland_facility.html
So it was pretty clear something was coming, not saying this report is true but opening customer service offices too early probably wouldn't be wise.

This leaves the Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Skyrim studio (Bethesda Game Studios) to keep doing what they do best: Make single player RPGs.

Some guys at Zenimax Online Studios have previously worked on Dark Age of Camelot and other PC MMOs. So I wouldn't know about console support since Bethesda Game Studios isn't working on this game (other than providing the background story from the established Elder Scrolls Universe).

As I said the Studio was opened in 2007 and it would make sense they would work on an IP they actually owned at the time. The Fallout MMO stuff has only bean recently cleared up, so unless they are gonna rework 4-5 years of development to change a different setting I don't think that's gonna happen.

I generally don't care for MMOs, but since my favorite single-player RPG's development might be influenced by this I have a great interest in it. And luckily I'm pretty sure there won't be any crossing of the wires, Bethesda Game Studios will keep making Single-Player RPGs, it's what they do best (and even have room for improvement on the single-player game before tackling a differen beast like an MMO).

Fallout 4 and TESVI will keep on happening. The only worry on that front is if a console drops out of the race or if a consoles launch keeps getting pushed back, because either both or one of them will be on the next generation of consoles.

 

[mattttherman3]

MMOs are mostly SHIT, call me when they can have the same graphics and WRITING as good rpg's, not trying to troll, this is just my opinion, I have played SWOTR, mediocre at best. In fact, I would put Runescape above SWTOR, WoW was never on my rader.

End rant

 

[Your Fearless Captain]

I would love co-op in Skyrim/Oblivion/Morrowwind but an MMO sounds not so great.

Does anyone have the link to the co-op Skyrim mod?

 

[T8B95]

I doubt it, honestly. Pete Hines, VP of Marketing, has said many times before that they aren't interested in doing an MMO. Nevertheless, rumours like this have been around for years.

 

[renegade7]

I'm guessing Lion= beast races (Argonian, Khajiit, maybe Ork), Eagle = elven races, and Dragon = human races.

And I think it will be good. MMOs and the sandbox style gameplay really go hand in hand.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Meh.

Also, it would make perfect sense.
Nothing you do in an elder scrolls game makes hardly any difference anyway.
"I used to be an adventurer like you ..."
"LIKE ME?! ME?! I single-handedly hacked 100 dragons to death. I'm carrying 5 daedric artifacts. I'm decked out in glass and am the archmage of the entire universe. YOU, YOU were reduced to being a gawdamn guard by one stray arrow. NOTHING LIKE ME."

You know, exactly like MMO dialogue. Yes, even TOR.

 

[Andaxay]

I thought they DIDN'T want to make an MMO because they wanted the player to feel like the hero in the Elder Scrolls games and they wouldn't feel like a hero if several thousand other heroes were also running around?

I'd be well happy if this actually happened, though. I think it could work really well as an MMO, and real people compared to the sometimes questionable NPCs could only be a bonus... if they weren't a bunch of morons. Let's face it, it's the Internet. But still. Here's hoping it's real.

 

[Gwright9001]

Kill WoW? why bother attempting to kill something that is already killing itself?
People who never played wow might not understand, but wow is only a bare shadow of what it used to be, in terms of lore (Cataclysm ruined that) and Gameplay(WotLK Destroyed all the skill that it took to play the game)...

A bit more on topic: A elder scrolls MMO could work if it isn't just a WoW clone painted over with the Elder scrolls universe, it would have to feel and play like a elder scrolls game.

 

[Lunar Templar]

nope, no bad ideas here, no sir-y

 

[Baldry]

I always preferred the idea of them a world where your friends could come and join and they wouldn't have to quest with you but you'd all be in the world doing your own quests and if you wanted team up, trade stuff and all that jazz but an entire MMO I don't think would work. Too many heroes running around being all Dovahkiin and stuff! I'm not against it so much as I'd prefer it to be co-opy.

 

[Wintermoot]

you are the chosen one!
like everybody else.....

 

[Vkmies]

Double points to anyone who can craft a convincing argument for how this game might topple Blizzard's World of Warcraft empire.

it would be on consoles ? i mean it would right ? Elder Scrolls is on consoles.

there has never been a "breakthrough" console MMO.

Definitelly a point that makes sense you are giving here, and while I don't really have alot of opinions about this as of right now, I need to throw a few "breakthrough" console MMO's your way:

Phantasy Star Online
Final Fantasy XI
EverQuest: Online Adventures

But don't believe me, I don't even like MMO's. Just pointing a couple out, eh?

 

[starhaven]

i just want co-op

a mmo will make it no longer a elder scrolls game i will want to play not saying it will be bad but the whole mmo style just really dosent do anything for me i find it boring

 

[Lectori Salutem]

Seriously, why an Elder Scrolls MMO? I don't recall anyone asking for it.

 

[FiatCelebrity]

There is nothing special about the idea of an Elder Scrolls MMO. The Elder Scrolls world is just another western fantasy setting that has virtually nothing to distinguish itself from D&D, Tolkien, Warhammer, Kingdoms of Amalur, Dragon Age, or Warcraft. The only thing that would be different would be the company that makes it, and there is no evidence that Bethesda can do a strictly "better" job than Blizzard. The difference between single player Bethesda games and MMOs in general (a genre that has seen almost no mechanical changes since Everquest anyway) is really only the control system. I suspect the controls like those of the Bethesda games haven't yet been explored by other MMOs (to my knowledge) is probably because of connection issues. Imagine how pissed players will be if they seem from their own perspective to dodge or hit enemies in Skyrim gameplay, but the game doesn't read it that way and they get hurt or die in the flawed exchange. These things still happen in FPS multiplayer games. Imagine the extent of this problem on an MMO server. I'm afraid they might conform to the die-roll chance to hit format, or worse, automated dps with sword swinging animation, in order to avoid this problem. In this case, how would an Elder Scrolls MMO be different from WOW, DAoC, or Everquest?

Having said that, if the rumors are true and Bethesda is going the "prequel" route to the "plot," they would at least be leaving what little originality there is in the Elder Scrolls world virtually unharmed whether it's a success or not. They can leave the future from Skyrim available to expand on for ES VI, and there's enough time between the first game and the "prequel" that the actions of all these MMO players won't really matter to the story developed thus far. I won't be playing this MMO if it is really going to exist, and even if I did, I don't really care about the Elder Scrolls world to begin with. I just like to explore pretty forests and have thrilling, deeply immersive adventures. I think leet speak would take me out of that experience.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

They have to come up with something better than Elder Scrolls Online, just doesn't sound fantastic enough.

Also, no one is going to be forced to play it, so don't moan.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

No.

No.

No no no no no.

Hell no.

No.

Everything the Elder Scrolls games do right would be ruined by making it an MMO. I do not want to explore Tamriel with 1 billion other twats who all want to kill/loot/teabag me thanks. I also do not want all of Bethesda's time and manpower being used up on one huge MMO, leaving them no room to work on new Elder Scrolls/Fallout RPG's.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Seriously, why an Elder Scrolls MMO? I don't recall anyone asking for it.

I think you may be wrong about that

 

[quiet_samurai]

I thin it wold be cool.... and it doesn't mean that they still won't continue on with making single player games too. It's such a huge world with lots of lore and different cultures to experience..... just as long as it doesn't become the gear orientated cluster fuck that is WOW.

Seriously, why an Elder Scrolls MMO? I don't recall anyone asking for it.

Oh there has, it's been discussed on this site in forums lots of times. And don't let it bother you dude. IF you don't like it don't play it.

 

[archvile93]

This seems like a rather good fit for the Elder Scrolls series since it already offers the things an MMO tends to like a very large open world and...um...hmm. So anyway, yeah I can see this working rather well for them, TES does have some strong brand recognition. On an unrelated note: Oh hey, so we'll finally see something on Doom 4?