Could The Elder Scrolls V be an MMO?

Bethesda confirms that it will continue the series, possibly online

February 22, 2007

Bethesda VP of PR and Marketing, Pete Hines, told Pro-G that the company is rolling out ideas for the next line in its Elder Scrolls series of RPGs.

Hines noted, though, that actual development on the game is some time away. "We're finishing up Oblivion then shifting our focus to Fallout 3, which is our next big role-playing game."

The Elder Scrolls games reached mainstream success when The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind gained massive popularity, and then saw runaway success with TES IV: Oblivion, which is now available for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Hines touched on the possibility of the fifth installment in the series taking the form of a massively-multiplayer online game. The Elder Scrolls games are known for their open-ended gameplay and huge, free environments, and playing a single-player game in the franchise is a little like playing an MMO by yourself. Many players were disappointed when Oblivion didn't include any online components.

Of course, even Bethesda isn't certain of what The Elder Scrolls V will involve — but with the rapid success of the series, it's certainly on the horizon.