'The Elder Scrolls: Blades' Begins Rolling Out on App Store After Showcase at iPhone XS Event Last Year

Thursday March 28, 2019 6:10 AM PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Bethesda's iOS game "The Elder Scrolls: Blades" has begun rolling out in early access this week, after facing numerous delays in 2018 (via TouchArcade). The game was first announced at E3 2018, and then showcased by Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard at Apple's "Gather Round" iPhone XS event in September 2018.


As of now, the game is in early access and Bethesda is sending out invites in waves. If you're interested, you can create a Bethesda account to sign up for early access on the company's website, and more information about the program can be found on the game's FAQ page.

Apple used the mobile game as a way to showcase the A12 Bionic chip on the newest generation of iPhone devices. During the event, Howard said that Blades is a massive, first person role-playing game that is full of quests for players to complete in an open world.


In the game, you play as a member of the Blades, a group of the Empire's top agents who are forced into exile, forcing you to return to your hometown in an effort to help rebuild it. The game's App Store page highlights features like dungeon questing, city customization, player-versus-player arena battles, character and gear editing, and more.

The Elder Scrolls: Blades is available to download from the iOS ‌App Store‌ for free [Direct Link]. As with most free-to-play games, there are in-app purchases of up to $99.99.

Tag: Bethesda
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Scottsoapbox
8 months ago
I would gladly pay $99 for a premium full game (not free to play) mobile version of Elder Scrolls. But those days are gone as all the money is in gambling and addiction based mechanisms to keep you buying in app purchases.
-sigh-
Rating: 6 Votes
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69Mustang
8 months ago

I hope. I admit I’m part of the problem where I only play free games...but I never do in app purchases. For $10 a month unlimited games and no in app purchases, I might do that.

This is what Apple is going to have to overcome with Arcade. The vast majority of mobile gamers play free games. It's what they're used to, and based on revenue, it's what they like. I'm skeptical Apple is going to be able to convince the IAP crowd to fork over $10 a month. Mobile gaming to me is simply a distraction or time killer, not a destination. I think it's the same for a lot of people. Arcade is going to need compelling content to even have a glimmer of a chance.

I'm not opposed to gaming subscription. I have an XBox Game Pass which is well worth it considering I paid $100 for a year. $100 is the cost of a typical AAA title + dlc season pass. Worth it.
Rating: 4 Votes
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Saipher
8 months ago

I would gladly pay $99 for a premium full game (not free to play) mobile version of Elder Scrolls. But those days are gone as all the money is in gambling and addiction based mechanisms to keep you buying in app purchases.
-sigh-


Hopefully Apple Arcade will fix that.
Rating: 4 Votes
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kcslc
8 months ago

I would gladly pay $99 for a premium full game (not free to play) mobile version of Elder Scrolls. But those days are gone as all the money is in gambling and addiction based mechanisms to keep you buying in app purchases.
-sigh-

Well, Nintendo released a game with a single IAP of $9.99 to unlock the whole game. The whining about the price on this forum was immeasurable. It was one of the best mobile games I’ve ever played. It was fresh, challenging, and an innovative way to play a platformer with one hand. Well worth the $10.

I guess Nintendo should have implemented consumable micro transactions up to and including purchases of $99.99 like this Bethesda game and it would have been hailed as the game of all games on iOS.

I seriously don’t get people who play games on mobile. It simply is not worth the time, energy, or money.
Rating: 1 Votes
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err404
8 months ago

Not all games are poison just because you have to pay for them upfront, Grid, Rush Rally 3 to name 2, the freemium model killed mobile gaming as it’s akin to gambling, Apple won’t include them purely because it gets far far far far more money from the freemium model as do the devs.

I don’t think what Apple is offering will last long or will be any good.

I was specifically referring to IAP for consumables as being poison. I should have been more clear.
I do enjoy premium titles on iOS, but have frequently been burned by those as well. More often than not, premium titles are abandoned. Bugs are left unpatched and instead of fixing issues when an iOS patch breaks functionality, the games are often just pulled off of the store.
I am cautiously optimistic of Apple Arcade because it could offer what I am looking for out of mobile gaming; well supported premium games that don’t have IAP.
Remember that this will live along side the current App Store and will likely appeal to gamers who are otherwise not spending any money on IAP today. This could be a new and largely untapped revenue stream for Apple that if done well could increase overall store profits. I can almost guarantee that the average iOS user spends less per month today than this new service will charge.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Nuvi
8 months ago

Hopefully Apple Arcade will fix that.


That would require modified Elder Scrolls version without in-app purchase features.

In all honesty, some of the developers are just greedy with in app purchases. They want you to pay more than you would for a A-list game. One exception might be Nintendo since they see in app purchase games somewhat problematic.
Rating: 1 Votes
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err404
8 months ago
Pass. I don’t download games with consumable IAP.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Justanotherfanboy
8 months ago

I wonder if they're going to treat this game like they did Fallout 76. Release crap and attempt to fix later.


Well... this certainly didn’t look like “crap” when they showed it a year ago... and ship date already slid from September to December, then from December to March.
This game looks orders of magnitude more polished & involved than mobile Fallout. I’m cautiously optimistic that it will be/run as smooth as their demos.
Rating: 1 Votes
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apolloa
8 months ago

I was specifically referring to IAP for consumables as being poison. I should have been more clear.
I do enjoy premium titles on iOS, but have frequently been burned by those as well. More often than not, premium titles are abandoned. Bugs are left unpatched and instead of fixing issues when an iOS patch breaks functionality, the games are often just pulled off of the store.
I am cautiously optimistic of Apple Arcade because it could offer what I am looking for out of mobile gaming; well supported premium games that don’t have IAP.
Remember that this will live along side the current App Store and will likely appeal to gamers who are otherwise not spending any money on IAP today. This could be a new and largely untapped revenue stream for Apple that if done well could increase overall store profits. I can almost guarantee that the average iOS user spends less per month today than this new service will charge.


I just saw this new Arcade service will offer exclusive games only, well that could be interesting and make it useful.
But Apple will then be competing with Google Stadia and possible high end PC games on your phone or tablet, hmm interesting times.
And thanks for clearing it up, it wasn’t clear you hated IAPs and I utterly agree, hate them.

But Apple didn’t announce pricing, that could be an issue too for this service.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Mansu944
8 months ago

Hopefully Apple Arcade will fix that.

I hope. I admit I’m part of the problem where I only play free games...but I never do in app purchases. For $10 a month unlimited games and no in app purchases, I might do that.
Rating: 1 Votes
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