It’s Official: Elder Scrolls Online Cost Is $14.99 Per Month

We all knew it was coming, but Matt Firor, Game Director for ZeniMax Online Studios has made it official in a recent interview with GameStar: there will be a monthly subscription fee to play the Elder Scrolls Online. The cost? Free for the first 30 days and $14.99 per month thereafter (though Fior hinted there may be some savings if multiple months are purchased upfront).

Whether the Elder Scrolls Online cost should be free or “pay for play” has been a hot topic in the gaming community, and we’ve covered the issue recently in the Skyrim Fansite articles Elder Scrolls Online Should Be Free to Play According to Poll, and Are MMORPGs Dying? And What Does This Mean for The Elder Scrolls Online? The debate is an interesting one…

Free To Play

One one hand, some gamers feel they shouldn’t be expected to shell out money on a monthly basis to adventure in Tamriel — especially after having to purchase the ESO game in the first place. As of today’s date, the game is being sold on pre-order from Amazon for $59.99 (PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One systems). Paying that much money for a game and then paying a monthly fee is too steep for some players. In fact, subscription-based game models have been hammered recently as evidenced by the underwhelming membership and and outright player exodus of Star Wars: The Old Republic and the venerable World of Warcraft.

Pay To Play

On the other hand, some gamers feel that the Elder Scrolls Online should charge a monthly subscription. The reasoning is that the monthly fees will go towards supporting the game and ensuring that only serious players take part in the MMORPG adventure. Firor touched upon this somewhat when he discussed the ESO subscription-based model:

Charging a flat monthly (or subscription) fee means that we will offer players the game we set out to make, and the one that fans want to play. Going with any other model meant that we would have to make sacrifices and changes we weren’t willing to make.

ESO is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, as evidenced by its recent Golden Joystick nomination for “Most Wanted” game. Based on everything we know, Firor and the ZeniMax Online crew have created a game worthy of the Elder Scrolls series that gamers can immerse themselves in. “You get what you pay for” is the thinking behind the proponents of the subscription-based model.

Elder Scrolls Online Cost

So what say you regarding the Elder Scrolls Online cost? Firor has promised fresh game content and hundreds of hours of game play. Is $14.99 a month too steep, or is the price a bargain? Would you prefer that ESO was free-to-play, even if it meant a trade-off some of the game’s features? The discussion is academic at this point though, because the $14.99 per month plan is here to stay — at least for the time being. Share your thoughts with your fellow Elder Scrolls fans in the Speak Your Mind section below, and consider joining the Skyrim Fansite if you haven’t already done so. Thanks!