Posted on January 2, 2014, Mike Sharkey Rumor: The Elder Scrolls Online Cost $200 Million to Make
It’s time to play the How Much Did it Cost to Make? game!
Today’s contestant is Bethesda’s upcoming MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online. Cue the applause. Alrighty, let’s get right to it. I’ll hit my button first and come in with a total spend of… $100 million!
According to gaming’s internet sleuth Superannuation, the wrong answer buzzer is buzzing.
How about $125 million? No? Come on, $150? TESO can’t be more than $150 million.
Or can it?
NeoGaf grabbed an embed of Superannuation’s tweet about TESO’s price tag, a message Superannuation has since deleted without providing a reason. With no source cited, here’s what he had to say:
Again, no source cited or further tweets about TESO’s cost, so take this as pure speculation. Based on Superannuation’s lengthy track record, though, it’s safe to think of it as well-informed speculation. And if, if it’s true, that would make The Elder Scrolls Online one of the most expensive games ever made.
Various sources pinned a total spend of $200 million by Electronic Arts on Star Wars: The Old Republic, so it doesn’t sound completely out of the realm of possibility. Insane for Bethesda/Zenimax to spend that much after what happened to SWTOR? Absolutely, but definitely possible, especially given the fact The Elder Scrolls Online will be a multiplatform game and not simply a PC exclusive like SWTOR.
The $200 million figure also makes Bethesda’s decision to attach a monthly subscription to TESO more understandable. Foolish, but understandable.
We’ll see how this potential financial disaster plays out beginning in April when The Elder Scrolls Online launches for PC.