Court documents say Bethesda's MMO already under dev, rumor says it's Elder Scrolls
by Krystalle Voecks 
Jan 20th 2010 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Legal
Now, to follow this interesting tidbit up, the word is that Bethesda is moving to have this particular chunk of testimony censored to protect trade secrets. To stir the pot a bit further on why they might be scrambling to block it, VG247 have a source they claim is reliable confirming this is the often-rumored Elder Scrolls MMO. What's more, their source says the Elder Scrolls MMO should have been announced last year.
Holding off on a Fallout MMO, we can understand. Bethesda doesn't have the clear rights to the Fallout MMO IP as yet like they do with the single-player game, so to announce it early would be folly. At the rate things are proceeding, heavens only knows how long the Interplay/Bethesda proceedings will drag out, so one could argue developing it before this is all settled would be folly too, considering how fast technology evolves.
As for the reasons on holding an Elder Scrolls MMO back, we have some problem with justifying the rumors of delay. After all, Bethesda clearly owns the rights to Elder Scrolls, and starting the hype machine up several years before release wouldn't exactly be a surprisingly new tactic from any company in the games industry.
Still, there are tasty tidbits that support an Elder Scrolls MMO offering, such as Todd Howard's statement that there's "always a chance" for an Elder Scrolls MMO, Zenimax holding several Elder Scrolls MMO type domains after getting funding for MMO development, and the slip-up by a book publisher that noted the next game in the series after Oblivion would be 200 years later.
Whether the game those nearly 100 souls are busy working on is the oft asked for Elder Scrolls MMO, or if they are indeed elbows-deep in a Fallout MMO despite counsel's claims to the contrary, who knows. Both games would undoubtedly have a following, and could stand to make Bethesda/Zenimax some nice cash if done well.
[via VG247]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Maximilian said on 12:16PM 1-20-2010
Oblivion and Fallout 3 shared the same engine, no? Who's to say that they're not intent on re-using the same engine for the Fallout MMO, assuming they get the rights to it? Cryptic's re-using their engine for STO, after all, so it's not unprecedented.
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snowleopard233 said on 12:40PM 1-20-2010
I happen to love fantasy settings and can understand why they’re so popular amongst mmo developers. They’re recognizable, yet flexible, and they have a logistical concreteness that is easy for people to wrap their heads around. If you set an mmo in modern day, your audience may wonder why they can’t go everywhere in the known world. Sci-Fi settings are difficult in that they often involve the nearly limitless expanse of space. With those types of settings, you need to set up certain boundaries. You can only go to Seoul, New York, and London and only one part of that massive planet is available to you. A fantasy setting is usually just one world or a continent. It’s concrete and compact, but often easier for the audience and the developer to work with.
Anyways, true this could be another fantasy mmo, but I’m looking forward to the different control scheme it could offer. Rather than the same point and click that plagues so mnay RPG’s, Oblivion and its other elder scrolls predecessors use a first person control scheme that has a lot of potential in an mmo. I’d love to actually snipe an enemy with a bow from afar rather than just clicking a button. True darkfall has this already, but that’s a hardcore game and a more independent one at that. Bethesda could really create something cool if they made an accessible fantasy mmo with fps controls.
snowleopard233 said on 12:41PM 1-20-2010
crap. I was one commenter off! That was meant for Toucan
x(wai)x said on 2:31PM 1-20-2010
I don't see the Elder Scrolls engine working very well for an MMO. Not without some very heavy modification, at least.
Shardie said on 8:56AM 1-25-2010
Zenimax are using Hero-Engine for their unnamed MMO, same engine as TOR
"ZeniMax Online selected HeroEngine because we determined it will serve our needs best. That fact that we can get up and running with meaningful art and content in the near term makes the HeroEngine a perfect fit for us."
Matt Firor,
President of ZeniMax Online Studios
from
http://www.heroengine.com/press-releases
Toucan said on 12:17PM 1-20-2010
How many more MMO's based on strong fantasy RP IPs do we need, no matter what the reputation of the company?
I play WoW, I play LOTRO, I dabble in WAR, there is no more time in my day. By the time this game gets really good, WoW may be dead and everything that matters will be next gen.
I guess I am not the customer.
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Mr Angry said on 2:10PM 1-20-2010
Yeah difference is that the people are turning up are a Swedish Netball team and they bought a load of coke and Boba Fett!!!!!
Arthy0 said on 12:26PM 1-20-2010
I love The elder scrolls ... an elder scrolls mmo would be a "definitely buy" for me. But I must agree, the medieval fantasy / dragon killing hack and slash MMO market is over saturated and I doubt this would be a good idea (Unless they make something different ... like say: " THE ONE MMO IN WITCH YOU CAN ACTUALLY ROLE-PLAY INSTEAD OF GRIDING REP" (witch is what I'm hoping for) ... that might be different.
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Kdolo said on 12:31PM 1-20-2010
another reason I hope that Bethesda doesn't procure the rights to a Fallout MMO. We've seen the garbage they produce when they layer guns and rockets over Oblivion. I'd hate to see that mistake reproduced in MMO form.
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LaughingTarget said on 12:45PM 1-20-2010
As opposed to just rebranding Fallen Earth like Interplay was planning?
Wjowski said on 12:45PM 1-20-2010
...It was still better than Brotherhood of Steel.
jmckinney71 said on 12:28PM 1-20-2010
I swore off high fantasy after WAR, but I'd play this simply because it's Bethesda.
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Barinthos said on 12:39PM 1-20-2010
I'd be satisfied if they made a co-op/multiplayer version of Oblivion or something like it.
A full blown fantasy MMO in a fantasy MMO saturated market isn't all that great.
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kooda said on 1:27PM 1-20-2010
"I'd be satisfied if they made a co-op/multiplayer version of Oblivion or something like it."
Agreed. i play WoW allods closed beta & some steam games i just want to chill with my friends in an oblivion style game :|
Kdolo said on 1:02PM 1-20-2010
No, as opposed to not having anything, which I would prefer. Asshole.
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Kdolo said on 1:03PM 1-20-2010
@laughingtarget
Wjowski said on 2:33PM 1-20-2010
So basically you just want to stomp the franchise dead just because it doesn't suit your tastes.
Talk about fan-dumb.
Kdolo said on 2:50PM 1-20-2010
and i guess you want another Terminator: Salvation
LaughingTarget said on 3:42PM 1-20-2010
I don't think you comprehend. That is exactly what Interplay is planning. Farming it out to Icarus Studios and basically rebranding Fallen Earth as Fallout Online. I would prefer that Bethesda retain the Fallout MMO rights because Interplay is clearly helmed by insane people and hand it off to Obsidian, which is made up of most of the Black Isle team, the guys that made the first two Fallouts. No matter what happens, Interplay losing the rights to a Fallout MMO is the best thing that could ever happen to Fallout fans.
Skuz said on 1:05PM 1-20-2010
That's a pretty huge cat to be let out of a bag if the rumour is true, quite imprsssive it was under wraps so long.
I was a huge fan of Morrowind but never got around to trying out Oblivion for several unrelated reasons, so I'd definitely be "in the market" foir an Elder Scrolls MMO, provided of course it has that same stamp of quality as the TES games had.
The other rumour I heard was Duke Nukem 3d isn't truly dead & had been put back in some developr's hands recently, though that's a real shaky rumour in my opinion.
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