The Elder Scrolls Online was released two months ago – but so far Zenimax has not commented further on the player numbers. Of course, each company may handle the question of “Will player numbers be disclosed or not?” differently, but the curiosity of the TESO fans is still there. This has already sparked heated discussions in the official forum.
A user also asked the support team and allegedly received this response:
Then what is the number of current players in ESO?
I find it really important in a discussion with people who doubt the subscription model.Response: We have not yet published any information related to current number of users within the game. If and when we decide to share this information, it will be posted to Elderscrollsonline.com
Summary: No subscriber numbers have been released yet and if they do, it will be posted on the official site of The Elder Scrolls Online. Okay! But why this secrecy?
Of course, conspiracy theories and apocalypse scenarios immediately come to mind: Is TESO perhaps not as desired as hoped? Have the player numbers dropped significantly after the first month? Might they decrease even further with the release of Wildstar?
So far, there is only a rather brief statement from the German community manager:
The only estimates of sales figures are based solely on physical sales through other retailers. Digital sales clearly dominate.
And as has already been stated elsewhere, we do not have to disclose our numbers and generally do not. The size of the number does not matter.
Katja says: Of course, there is no legal obligation, but it would be quite interesting to see how many players are active in TESO. With Skyrim, admittedly by the parent company Bethesda, we were given some insight into player and sales numbers. However, even with the online version, we were presented, albeit casually, the numbers from the beta – with over 5 million registered players.
But well, maybe Zenimax just wants to avoid the discussions that, for example, occur every quarter with World of Warcraft – because MMORPGs tend to be talked about until they are declared dead. And is it really that important for enjoyment whether there are 50,000 or 500,000 players around you? Furthermore, no one knows how many paying customers Zenimax needs in order to remain profitable.
As described in our review, TESO also offers great moments and significant potential to improve even further.
What do you think: Are you interested in the subscription numbers, or does it not matter how many players experience adventures with you in Tamriel?
