Despite recent shift of many big MMOs toward the free-to-play model, Bethesda has decided that The Elder Scrolls Online will have a monthly subscription. No free rides in Tamriel, it seems.
In an interview with GameStar, Zenimax Studios president Matt Firor has confirmed the monthly fee.
“We’re building a game with the freedom to play – alone or with your friends – as much as you want,” he said. “A game with meaningful and consistent content – one packed with hundreds of hours of gameplay that can be experienced right away and one that will be supported with premium customer support.
“Charging a flat monthly (or subscription) fee means that we will offer players the game we set out to make, and the one that fans want to play. Going with any other model meant that we would have to make sacrifices and changes we weren’t willing to make.”
Players will be able to play for free for 30 days when they purchase game and open their account. Afterwards they’ll have to pay if they “want to continue playing for hundreds of hours more.”
“We’ll go into details on this later, but the basic monthly charge will be $14.99/€12.99/£8.99 and expect some discounts if you buy multiple months at a time.” Frior told the site when asked about the price.
“We’ll also support game time cards as well as a variety of payment methods.”
What do you think? Is playing within the rich world of The Elder Scrolls worth 15 bucks a month, or would you rather stick to one of the many free-to-play MMOs out there?
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