Bethesda says Elder Scrolls Online subscription charge ‘was a mutual decision’

The implementation of a monthly subscription fee for the upcoming The Elder Scrolls Online was not forced upon Bethesda by parent company ZeniMax.

It would be fair to say it was a mutual decision,” Bethesda’s global marketing and PR boss Pete Hines told Games.On.Net. It wasn’t like they decided it, and we didn’t mandate it. There was a lot of conversation around it.

I worry about it but I worry about everything. That’s my job, to worry. But I think it’s the right decision for the right reasons.

What’s going to determine whether or not it succeeds or fails is not really tied to what anyone else has done, it’s tied to ‘do we make a strong enough argument for the value that you get for your fifteen dollars?’. If we’re providing the kind of content people want to see where they’re like ‘This is awesome, I’m having a blast, this new stuff is totally worth it and I’m having fun’, then the subscription totally works.

If we’re putting out stuff that doesn’t make a case for it then we have a problem on our hands and we have failed to meet that value proposition. But I would argue that other games that have or haven’t succeeded with this: it’s more about that, not the model itself. It’s about ‘are you giving me my money’s worth for what you’re asking me to pay?’.”

The Elder Scrolls Online will be released on PC and Mac on April 4th and on PS4 and Xbox One in June.