Surprise, right? Guys, are you surprised?
When I reviewedThe Elder Scrolls Onlineback at launch I thought it had potential, but not enough to keep people paying for subscription time. Plenty of MMOs have enjoyed a subscription-based model, and games likeWorld of WarcraftandFinal Fantasy XIVgive you enough content to sustain said model. But that doesn’t seem to be the case forESO, as ZeniMax has announced that it will be dropping its subscription fee.
The plan is to flip a switch and go free on March 17 on the PC for existing owners, re-branded asThe Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited. To be clear,new owners will need to purchase the base game(which basically means it is using theGuild Wars 2model of “buy-to-play”), but then they can play without a fee. After that, PS4 and Xbox One players finally have a date on their version, set for June 9. There will be an optional subscription package (as is standard) called “ESO Plus,” which gives you extra in-game bonuses and more crown currency to spend, as well as DLC access — in other words, microtransactions are still in.
It’s going to be an interesting year for MMOs, especially if ZeniMax can turn things around. You can watch an official livestream from the developertoday at 12pm ESTfor more information.
