In an article by gamesindustry, Matt Firor talks about the success of The Elder Scrolls Online. He says not to talk about numbers, but the success of The Elder Scrolls Online in 2015 was huge. It exceeded all expectations.
“We are successful because we didn’t go Free2Play”
He attributes this to, among other things, the transition from a subscription model to a pay-once model. This allowed them to attract the “RPG” fans, particularly the Skyrim players.
Producer Matt Firor.
Initially, they had alienated players with the subscription model, but a “pay once and play the game” concept resonated well with RPG fans, especially the console players on PS4 and Xbox One. They gained millions of new players. MMO fans still had the option to subscribe.
Firor also takes pride in not jumping on the “Free2Play” bandwagon. Because you can “play out of the box” and don’t have to buy anything additional. This has been well received by many Elder Scrolls players.
DLCs like the Thieves Guild bring players back
Now that the game is running, it shows that the DLCs they release bring a lot of players back to ESO. The Thieves Guild missions and the Dark Brotherhood were highlights in Oblivion and Skyrim and are now also focal points of the content strategy in 2016.
Especially the Thieves Guild has brought many former players back. They expect the same from the Dark Brotherhood.
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What helps ESO additionally: The debate about whether an “MMO” can work on consoles was settled through Destiny and The Division .
In the past, Firor says, the terms MMO and MMORPG were interchangeable, but now some developers, including Zenimax Online, have decoupled “RPG” from “MMO” with their games.Today, MMO is a technology, not a game design anymore. Any game that allows millions of people to play together is an MMO.
In many ways, The Elder Scrolls Online is not an MMORPG, even though it has certain features, but it is its own thing.
Fallout Online?
When asked if Bethesda is planning other MMORPGs now that The Elder Scrolls Online is running well, Firor did not want to reveal anything. The question surely targeted “Fallout Online.”
They are only a year after the console launch of ESO, said Firor. They might think about such things, but at the moment they are just enjoying how well The Elder Scrolls Online is performing.
And so the success story of ESO is set to continue:
The Elder Scrolls Online: Royal murder in the Imperial City or returning dragons in Skyrim – the last decade has impressively demonstrated that there is no shor...
