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Bethesda explains why The Elder Scrolls Online isn’t free to play

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The Elder Scrolls Online will launch to all later this week, and Bethesda is hoping that early adopters to the MMO will be willing to plunk down a monthly fee for the game. With so many recent failures with this business model, why didn’t Bethesda opt for a free to play game? Bethesda’s Pete Hines claims that a subscription was the “right decision” for TESO, and that it’s up to the developers to provide good enough content to warrant the monthly fee.

Bethesda looking to offer subscribers value in TESO

Speaking with Games On, Hines explains, “If we’re providing the kind of content people want to see where they’re like ‘This is awesome, I’m having a blast, this new stuff is totally worth it and I’m having fun’, the subscription works,” said Hines.

“If we’re putting out stuff that doesn’t make a case for it then we have a problem on our hands and we have failed to meet that value proposition.”

Regardless, The Elder Scrolls Online certainly has a tough road ahead when we look at the fates of other recently released subscription based MMO games.


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