While many MMO's are going to the free to play or microtransaction model, the biggest new MMO coming to both PC and consoles, The Elder Scrolls Online, will not be free to play, and will in fact charge a monthly subscription fee of $14.99.
The news comes from Matt Firor, the General Manager of Zenimax Online, the parent company of developer Bethesda. Firor spoke to GameStar about the game, and revealed how much gamers can expect to pay per month:
"... the basic monthly charge will be $14.99/€12.99/£8.99 and expect some discounts if you buy multiple months at a time. We'll also support game time cards as well as a variety of payment methods."
Firor explained the decision to charge a monthly fee for the game, but said that Zenimax and Bethesda feel as though it is better to charge gamers one flat fee for the full Elder Scrolls Online, rather than give gamers an incomplete game for free and charge users for the full experience.
"The Elder Scrolls games are all about allowing the player to go where they want, be who they want, and do what they want. We feel that putting pay gates between the player and content at any point in game ruins that feeling of freedom, and just having one small monthly fee for 100% access to the game fits the IP and the game much better than a system where you have to pay for features and access as you play," said Firor. "The Elder Scrolls Online was designed and developed to be a premium experience: hundreds of hours of gameplay, tons of depth and features, professional customer support - and a commitment to have ongoing content at regular intervals after launch. This type of experience is best paired with a one-time fee per month, as opposed to many smaller payments that would probably add up to more than $14.99/month anyway."
However, the game will be free for a limited time, as those who purchase the title will have access to the game for free for the first 30 days if they're unsure if they want to pay to continue playing:
"The Elder Scrolls Online offers unlimited play for the first 30 days with the purchase of the game. The choice is yours to play as much as you want; hundreds of hours of content, PvP, etc - is all there for you to experience with the base purchase of the game. If you want to continue playing for hundreds of hours more after that first month you'll pay a flat fee for continued, unlimited access to the game."
Look out for more Elder Scrolls Online news right here as the game comes closer to getting an official release date.