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ESO Subscription Model Announced


David
  • Matt Firor, the General Manager of ZeniMax Online, has announced details regarding the payment model of the Elder Scrolls Online.

In a recent interview with German gaming website GameStar, Matt Firor provided new details on the payment model of Zenimax's upcoming MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online. The news confirmed that ESO will utilize a traditional monthly subscription fee, ending conjecture that the game will carry free-to-play or other payment models.

... We are very happy to finally announce our model. It's very simple - you pay once per month after the first 30 days and the entire game is available to you.

When asked if this older model could compete with recent free-to-play games that employ oft-despised "payment gateway" and "pay-to-win" systems, Firor responded that this was not in the spirit of the Elder Scrolls series.

We feel that putting pay gates between the player and content at any point in game ruins that feeling of freedom, and just having one small monthly fee for 100% access to the game fits the IP and the game much better than a system where you have to pay for features and access as you play.

Firor went on to explain specific details concerning the cost of the subscription system.

  • Unlimited play for the first 30 days with the purchase of the game.
  • Following the first month you'll pay a flat fee for continued, unlimited access to the game.
  • Basic monthly charge will be $14.99/€12.99/£8.99.
  • Expect discounts if you buy multiple months at a time.

Of course, there are also some additional interesting takeaways.

  • New content available every four to six weeks.
  • Graphics, engine, content, etc., are all the same between the PC and console versions.
  • There will be an open beta exclusive to the PS4 for a limited time.
  • Time frame for console betas will be discussed early next year; this probably pushes back our previous estimated release dates.

A special thanks to community member irons for bringing this interview to our attention.


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Games made by Bethesda were good themselves, games published by Bethesda but not made by them not so good. Why is it always like that. They could just do what defiance did. Even though that wasn't famous, it all came down to game play. Is zenimax scared eso's game play isn't good enough or something.

 

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Right now Capcom has the smartest business model. Despite it being a huge project, AAA title, and widely advertised pre-launch, Deep Down will be a free to play online dungeon crawler.

 

With the big-title competition at the best it's ever been, this is pure genius. People will still pay for content if they like the game. I think enough people will try it and be hooked instead of trying the games that cost them the money up front.

 

 

Edit: I also like the Wildstar business model, being able to sell game-time to other players in the game is huge for people who can't pay-to-play, it's kind of a... play-to-play (?) model where the game-time's still purchased from them, just traded between other players if they choose... EPIC!

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Now is just 15$ a ton of money? For some maybe, for most probably not, but is 15$ over time add up to a lot of money? YES

absolutely it does, you will spend 240 dollars in 1 year just for 1 game... and then 180 for every year that you continue to play and to do all this with a ton of other MMORPg's out there that offer very similar stuff in terms of content.

1st of all mate its 225 dollars 1st year then 180 for every year you continue playing it

you said it yourself 60$ for the game come with 1 month free so : 60$ + 15$*11(11 month not 12) :/

2nd name 1 f2p MMORPG out there that can be played normally and competitively without spending more than then 15$ a month they are making you pay.

i mean it name 1 !

wow is the biggest example of how p2p will always be better than f2p.

Now... in term of content if the devs don't deliver on their promise of release new content constantly then you are not getting your money's worth and u just stop paying until they do.

And ofc you will have stupid communities like in wow who will keep playing even when blizzard start giving them more than 70% less content for same price.

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Monthly fee rawks. It keep most of the teens out. That alone is worth paying for. It also keep some of the gold sellers and cheaters away. 15$ per month is nothing for all the hours of entertainment it have to offer. Cost per hour of entertainment is very low.My other hobby, diving, cost a hell lot more per hour of enjoyment. Trust me; )

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So, you know how they said they're trying to make plans with XBL and PSN so that consumers don't need to pay for those services on top of an ESO monthly fee?

 

I wonder if they're going to do what Portal 2 did with PSN, where if you have it on PS3 you can play it on PC for free... just, opposite of that.

 

To do so they'd need to link PSN / Steam. We already know that this is possible because of Portal. XBL would just need to get on board.

 

How probable do you guys think this guess is?

 

They already said that XBL, PSN, and PC/Mac would have separate servers..so we know the accounts won't be linked, but they would probably be transferable if this is turns out to be the case.

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