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Is The Next Elder Scrolls Game An MMO?
Bethesda's popular fantasy series, Elder Scrolls, seems destined to move into the MMO space eventually, but could that inevitable online extension be the next game in the series?
This latest rumor comes via the sleuths at System Link, who did some digging into the job openings at ZeniMax, Bethesda's parent company. The article notes two job openings in particular: a quest designer at Bethesda Game Studios and a content designer at ZeniMax Online Studios.
Now don't jump to conclusions just yet. The System Link story makes a lot of assumptions about this potential Elder Scrolls MMO. First off, they suggest that if Bethesda is making a game with a quest system, it must be either Elder Scrolls or Fallout. Since Todd Howard has said Fallout 4 is a longer wait off, the article guesses that it's Elder Scrolls. This is very possible, but it's also possible that Bethesda could be tackling a totally different IP that they're implementing a quest system into.
The biggest leap of faith comes with the ZeniMax Online job. That position is almost certainly to work on an MMO -- previous MMO experience is required, and the job listing mentions that the studio is working on an unannounced MMO. However, the System Link story assumes that Bethesda Game Studios and ZeniMax Online Studios are working on the same project, which doesn't seem as likely.
These are two separate job listings for two separate studios that are located an hour's drive apart from each other (by Google Map's estimate). While I'm sure some technology and talent is shared between the two companies, I doubt a quest designer hired to work at Bethesda would be doing work for a game at ZeniMax Online and vice versa.
All that said, I wouldn't be surprised at all of that ZeniMax Online Studios project is an Elder Scrolls MMO. Just don't be shocked if Bethesda the developer isn't as involved.
[Thanks to Kevin for the tip!]
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