14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like Zenimax's The Elder Scrolls Online MMORPG might go free-to-play next year. With the approach of the console release, this was to be expected, as Xbox Live and PS Plus subscribers will probably not pay an additional monthly amount in order to play The Elder Scrolls Online.
The information comes via The Elder Scrolls Online forums, where there's an entire debate on whether Zenimax canceled the 6-month subscription option knowing that the game would become free-to-play by that time.
Although the publisher has already offered an explanation on the French forum, it doesn't sound too convincing. According to Zenimax, the reason for removing the 6-month billing option would be the fact that the 1-month and 3-month subscription options are more popular among players.
However, that means that those who preferred the 6-month billing option until now will have to pay slightly more because they will now have to choose shorter subscription options.
Zenimax’s decision, if based on popularity, is rather weird because all subscription-based MMOs have billing options for 6 months that are less popular than those offering shorter subscriptions.
The game might go free-to-play once is being released on consoles
Now if we think about the upcoming release of The Elder Scrolls Online on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, we might get the full picture.
Although not confirmed, we doubt Microsoft and Sony would ever accept its players to pay their Internet provider in order to be online to play a game, pay for Xbox Live Gold or PS Plus service, and then pay an additional subscription for a particular MMO.
Given the fact that The Elder Scrolls Online can't be free-to-play on console and subscription-based on PC, there's only one solution: make the game free-to-play on PC as well.
On the other hand, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn for PS3 and PS4 still requires a monthly subscription in order to play, but you don't need PS Plus. The game is not available on the Xbox, so we can't really compare it with Zenimax's The Elder Scrolls Online.
All in all, we will probably find out more on whether or not The Elder Scrolls Online will go free-to-play in the next months, so stay tuned for additional details on the matter.
