No, this is not a joke, nor is it a simple rumour. According to sources, the owner of Bethesda, Zenimax Media, has registrated a new domain called "www.elderscrollsonline.com".
Perhaps we will see an online version of Morrowind in a distant future? Who knows. Now we're just waiting for the official word.

Note: I read this in a magazine (and trust me, they're good), so I thought I'd share it with you. They might be doing something else, like an official website for mods or something. So don't get your hopes up.

Hmmm.... Are you sure? What magazine did you hear this in?

Maybe...*shiver*...maybe TES V will be...MMO!! :O
By Azura, I hope not.

Amen to that.



Terminator: I read it in a small article made by PCGamer. They don't have the reputation of giving off false stuff, so it's true alright.

PCGamer? Well, I've never known them to be wrong...

Maybe they're just planning to launch some sort of Elder Scrolls online community? Or maybe they're just making it a new website... anything but a TES MMO, please...

I haven't actually thought of playing TES online along with other players. It'd be quite cool if there was online gaming.

Perhaps. But what about the Nerevarine? What about Martin? What about Dagoth Ur, and what about Mudcrabs?

But of course, they might make an MMO that's based before the Oblivion invasion, and before Morrowind. That might work.

00001 % whois elderscrollsonline.com

Whois Server Version 2.0

   Domain Name: ELDERSCROLLSONLINE.COM
   Registrar: CSC CORPORATE DOMAINS, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.corporatedomains.com
   Referral URL: http://www.csccorporatedomains.com
   Name Server: NS1.ZENIMAX.COM
   Name Server: NS2.ZENIMAX.COM
   Status: clientTransferProhibited
   Updated Date: 06-nov-2007
   Creation Date: 12-jun-2007
   Expiration Date: 12-jun-2009

>>> Last update of whois database: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:33:51 UTC <<<

    Registrant:
        ZeniMax Media Inc
        IT Department
        1370 Piccard Drive
        Suite 120
        Rockville, MD 20850
        US
        dnsadmin04@zenimax.com
        +1.3019632000  Fax: +1.3019632000

    Domain Name: ELDERSCROLLSONLINE.COM
    Registrar of Record: Corporate Domains, Inc.

    Administrative Contact:
        ZeniMax Media Inc
        DNS Admin
        1370 Piccard Drive
        Suite 120
        Rockville, MD 20850
        US
        dnstech04@zenimax.com
        +1.3019482200  Fax: +1.3019907025
    Technical Contact:
        ZeniMax Media Inc
        DNS Tech
        1370 Piccard Drive
        Suite 120
        Rockville, MD 20850
        US
        dnstech@ZENIMAX.COM
        +1.3019482200  Fax: +1.3019907025

    Domain servers in listed order:

        NS1.ZENIMAX.COM
        NS2.ZENIMAX.COM

    Created on..............: 15-Aug-07
    Expires on..............: 12-Jun-09
    Record last updated on..: 22-Aug-07

LoL...still the same old pedant, MB!

If I wanted to engage in pedantry, I would've used this:



...But that's beside the point. Elder Scrolls Online is real, and may God have mercy on ZeniMax's souls.

Oh, that's why it didn't work when I tried it... I typed whois www.elderscrollsonline.com, and it didn't like it. Well, at least we know for certain something is gonna happen...

btw, MB, do you use Linux by any chance? Or is that a different version of whois?

TES online will probably be a significant departure from what we've come to expect from the games. Like pretty much every MMO, the player will probably be this unimportant person who does stuff, but never actually affects the world in any way. Because afterall, if someone is allowed to get their group of people together, slaughter off an entire town, there wouldn't be much of a game left for those who aren't part of that group. It'll probably be a bit of a disappointment really since Bethsoft will be forced to create areas which havn't been given much attention, and do a poor job of it since they would be aiming for the average MMO gamer (who only sticks around to grind levels and occasionally go on a group raid). I think TES is just best off as a single player game, with its modding community intact. Honestly, if it wasn't for the modding possibilities the game would kinda suck, and most of us would be beating our heads against the wall trying to mod for NWN2. I don't play WoW for a reason. I like to do something reasonably meaningful with my efforts.

Now a two player cooperative version of any of the TES games which could be played/saved by either player at any time would be somthing... but a completely online version of the game would not.

TES hasn't been online before, so why turn around and wreak something beautiful ? It makes no sense to me

IF (and that's a BIG IF) BethSoft were to make a TES game along the lines as PSO (Phantasy Star Online), it might be doable, but I can't see a TES MMORPG.

But isn't Phantasy Star an MMO?

I did a whois search and found the same results before realizing I'd been beaten to it. Should be interesting painful to see how this develops.

Yeah, a more multiplayer option in a non-persistant world (similar to what was done with NWN) might work out better since people could host their own modded versions of the game, or people could join games on official servers. Something with a persistant world, more akin to Everquest, WoW, or whatever would just make the world alot less vibrant and meaningful. The only claim to fame in those games is being a PK or a PKK, kinda ruins the point of even having a game world to do anything else in. Nevermind the months of level grinding killing the same 5 enemies for weeks at a time, or the questions of balance since we'd probably be forced into classes, rather than able to make our own and do pretty much what we want skill wise without many limitations.

I cooperative "party-like" online feature would be nice (2-5 players)... a full breed MMO would just doom the game to mediocrity. But when TES V will be a singleplayer game... Bethesda knows that real fans enjoy singleplayer TES games. An online game will be released but I don't think it will be the end of the singleplayer TES games.

Perhaps we shouldn't despair completely. Indeed, an online game may lie in the future of the Elder Scrolls, but perhaps it'll simply be an optional, online version that goes along with the normal, singleplayer RPG version.

Even if the next TES game is online, I'll probably play it, out of love for the series and obligation. Bethesda may make a wrong choice in where they take their game, but pray that doesn't affect their world building skills and famous next-gen graphics.

A WoW-clone would be pointless. How many more of those do we need? I just tried the 3-day Lord of the Rings trial and after the initial rush of the cool opening, it got very boring, very fast.  I mean, you can't pick up anything? All those doors go nowhere? And combat = watching a timer on the bottom of your screen so you know when to click again?

On the other hand - there is an (admittedly small) chance that Bethesda could bring something really new and special to online gaming. Some of the ideas in Tabula Rosa could be interesting if done right - like having entire cities taken over by daedra until the villagers (players) can drive them out. Real player economies where gamers man the shops and stores, work as guards and take players to jail, run branches of mage or fighter guilds out in the boondocks...

It's about time someone re-thought online gaming and since Mr. British obviously failed to come up with a blank slate, maybe Bethesda can do it. Stranger things have happened.

(Ya, I still believe in Santa Claus too.)

-Jumonji

There are some games which have attempted this. They pretty much failed. Players just aren't reliable enough. For every 1 person that wants to setup something like that there are 5 jerks who just want to destroy it and take what they can. Afterall the benefits to doing those things are often small compared to running around killing stuff, and who really wants to pay a monthly fee to sit in a shop for several hours a day, or standing around in a general area trying to maintain order? Even if those things paid better than normal adventuring there wouldn't be many people who would actually want to do them for any length of time that didn't just involve sitting there AFK while at work/school/sleeping.

Vagrant,

I agree about the griefers. Lots of attention has been (and continues to be) paid to prevent them from destroying the game for everyone. Kill-stealing has been addressed many times. I'm sure it could be done here, but I'm also sure it won't be easy.

As far as sitting in a store - some people love to sit and do the same thing over and over if there is a game reward for it. Camping spawn sites, for example. And some people like to craft or even just dance (like the entertainers in SWG.) I can easily imagine a blacksmithing role in Oblivion where people gathered firewood, manned the bellows, and beat on an anvil to create high-end armor that they could sell. And when a player/customer came in the door, they'd go to the counter to make the transaction.

Again, I'm sure this could be done - and they'd probably get it wrong the first few times. But someone will get it right, and they'll get rich off of it. (Or, at least the game owners/investors will.)

-Jumonji

Edit: A nice touch would be to have NPC's that you could hire to man the store and sell your stuff while you're out mining ore and gathering firewood for the furnace... or just AFK.

Just remember everyone - the online division of Zenimax is called Zenimax Online Studios, not Bethesda Softworks. If anyone is going to be making an Elderscrolls MMO it will be Zenimax Online Studios, so stop referring to Bethesda when you talk about an Elderscrolls MMO.

Here: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page
Read the "Online Elder Scrolls? — November 2nd, 2007" part.

They discussed this new MMO several times on the PCGamer podcast, and the most recent mention reported some feedback from Bethesda, who apparently said that the registration was more out of protection of their Elder Scrolls IP than any actual plans to develop such an MMO. The thinking being that should they ever decide to take up such a project and the domain was already registered, they'd have to go through a lot of hassle (and potentially lose a good deal of money) in securing it then. Either that or it could be developed into an actual third-party website which could misrepresent their game series entirely.

This makes sense to me and honestly that could be all this is. Then again, you never really know. Personally I would hate to see it get turned into an MMO since it might not only not be a good game but it could put the future of the series, as far as its single player games go, in jeopardy. Bethsoft has always shown a real dedication for TES games to remain single player only, so that combined with their PR may indeed mean there isn't anything to this after all.

I highly doubt the domain 'elderscrollsonline.com' has anything to do with BethSoft (or Zenimax Online Studios for that matter) thinking about creating an online TES game anytime soon - it just simply can't be used as any kind of indicator. I simply don't see it coming to light. Ever. PERIOD.

The "I still think all of you are wrong anyway" philosophy again

Yeah, I know you're all wrong

I agree with you completely on this one man.
Seems like they’re following the (other game companies) crowd instead of sticking with what has been great so far.

MB, you beat me to the punch http://www.whois.net/whois_new.cgi?d=elder...ine&tld=com

What evidence do you have of this? We know nothing except that they've bought the domain. Don't jump to conclusions! Every game company copies the last successful game except for those who don't.

-Jumonji

I second that - just because a game developer buys a domain IE www.examplegameonline.com, doesn't mean they're thinking about making a new online game of a successful series. I personally abhor the thought of an online TES. So, STOP TALKING ABOUT IT ALREADY! You're driving me nuts

Wow...such words of wisdom. How ever could you have figured that one out?

I'm inclined to agree with Pan, chances are they're just keeping their options open.

Well, I thought about it and then looked around at the games, and sure enough, that's the way it always works.

-Jumonji

You do realize I was being sarcastic in response to your 'everyone does this except for those who don't,' right? It's kind of like the Christmas lights that say, "For indoor or outdoor use only."

Made you look!


-J