This morning The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax announced that the MMO title will be dropping subscriptions and become buy-to-play for PC players. The title is also expected to launch on PS4 and Xbox One, with the same deal, on June 9th.
The title will be rebranded as The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited to reflect this change.
While the game will become buy-to-play without a subscription, ESO is offering a premium subscription membership called ESO Plus. This is expected to provide exclusive in-game bonuses including a monthly allotment of the premium currency, crowns. ZeniMax announced during the live stream that the crown allotment will be 1500 a month.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited includes all the great gameplay from the original PC/Mac game, plus all the updates and content additions, including the exciting new Justice and Champion systems. All existing PC/Mac game accounts, open or closed, will be updated to the Tamriel Unlimited edition in March and former players will be invited back to the game at that time to experience all that is new in the world. New players will make a one-time purchase of the game and play, without restrictions, for as long as they like – without game subscription fees. Tamriel Unlimited will be supported with special, optional downloadable content available for purchase and an in-game Crown Store for convenience and customization items. Regular updates and new gameplay will be offered to all players to enjoy free of additional charges.
This move has been predicted for months by many in the industry as ESO seems to have been losing marketshare against other MMOs in the space. It appears that in the current market this is the most likely outcome for new titles that cannot stand up to the likes of juggernaut World of Warcraft.
Examples of this trend include Star Trek Online, RIFT: The Planes of Telara, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and The Secret World—all titles which started out with subscription models and eventually switched to free-to-play or buy-to-play. Other new titles coming out in the past few years have started as buy-to-play with a monetized model from the get-go such as Guild Wars 2 from 2012.
ZeniMax studio will be hosting a live stream today at noon EST to further elaborate on the announcement.
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