The Elder Scrolls Onlineis preparing for the launch of theGates of Oblivionexpansion. With the return of Mehrunes Dagon and his plane of Oblivion, known as the Deadlands, the new expansion plays on a combination of nostalgia forThe Elder Scrolls 4and the promise of something new.
Game Rant recently sat down with Matt Firor, the CEO of Zenimax Online Studios. WhileThe Elder Scrolls Onlineis turning back toOblivion, Firor discussed another influence on the MMORPG that few fans might expect:Grand Theft Auto.
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The Elder Scrolls Online’s Influences
WhenThe Elder Scrolls Onlinereleased, building an MMO that would attract a sustainable playerbase was a challenge that even highly anticipated games likeStar Wars: The Old Republichad struggled with. When discussing the game’s influences, Firor pointed toDark Age of Camelotas a large source of inspiration, with him and many other Zenimax Online Studios developers having worked on the MMO. For example, likeDark Age of Camelot,The Elder Scrolls Onlinereleased with three-faction PvP.
However,The Elder Scrolls Onlinehas forgone many MMO staples since its initial release.ESOdropped its subscription modelyears ago, allowing players to enter any zone in the world and be automatically leveled for that zone in an update titledOne Tamriel. Firor explained thatGrand Theft Auto Onlineinfluenced this shift.
“We really looked at a lot of games, but it wasn’t just MMOs. There were tons of other games that we got great ideas from. Obviously all theElder Scrollsgames, but multiplayer games that weren’t ‘MMOs’ likeGrand Theft Auto. It’s a massive online game with millions of people playing it.”
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GTA Online And One Tamriel
GTA Onlinehad a huge fanbase by the timeThe Elder Scrolls Onlinedecided to launch itsOne Tamrielupdate. Firor explained howOne Tamrielspecifically drew on ideas fromGrand Theft Autothat weren’t found in traditional MMOs.
“We got that concept pretty much fromGTA, because do you really care what level you are inGTAwhen you jump into the game? No, not really. You just jump in and play and have fun. We really liked that idea. You could group with anyone any time, and go on adventures, so we got some inspiration from there. It’s not just earlyMMOs andWorld of WarcraftandStar Warsthat had an influence onESO, it was really a ton of different types of games.”
TheGrand Theft Autoinfluence could be part of the key toThe Elder Scrolls Online’s long-term success. As other MMOs grew older, the amount of content being added often meant new players were faced with a long levelling process to catch up with their friends. Similar shifts have been seen in other MMOs, even genre giantWorld of Warcraft, which not only made the level requirements for zones more flexible but recently condensed its levels back to the original 60 found inVanillaandclassicWoW.
With over 15 million copies sold and a consistent playerbase, it seemsThe Elder Scrolls Onlinetaking cues fromGrand Theft Autopaid off. With theGates of Oblivionexpansion on its way with the first installment,Blackwood, new players will be able to dive into this content without a long levelling process keeping them away. Firor described his studio’s goal as “making players happy and ensuring that they can associate with one another and group with one another and have fun doing it,” adding if the studio does all that then “ESOwill be around for a long time to come.”
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwoodlaunches June 1 for PC and Stadia; and June 8 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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