The Elder Scrolls Online has been confirmed to carry a subscription fee when it’s released next year according to Matt Firor, General Manager of ZeniMax Online. According to Firor, a subscription-based model is necessary in order to “offer players the game we set out to make,” and he believes that going with any other model, such as a free-to-play one, would force the developer to make sacrifices and changes they weren’t willing to make. Similar to any other subscription-based MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online will offer 30 days free with a purchase of the game with the monthly subscription to be the standard fare of $14.99 with discounts offered to multi-month subscribers.
In the same interview with GameStar, Firor also shared that ZeniMax hopes to roll out new content every four to six weeks to the players. Recently, other subscription-based MMORPGs such as Rift, Tera, and Star Wars: The Old Republic have switched to a free-to-play model after a subscription-based one couldn’t sustain itself. It will be interesting to see how ESO will stack up against the other remaining subscription-based heavyweights, namely World of Warcraft and the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
Source: GameStar
