E3 2019 press conference.
First revealed back at E3 2018, The Elder Scrolls: Blades promised to be something altogether new for the mobile gaming market, with talk of it being a fully-fledged Elder Scrolls game from Bethesda. The title boasted three different game modes, including the in-depth Town mode and the endless Rogue-like dungeon of the Abyss, and all of it was due to come in at an enticing free price model with additional purchases. However, the end result did not quite live up to expectations, particularly with its free-to-play business model stifling play.
As such, the game has been through some tweaks. The next major change to The Elder Scrolls: Blades is that it is making a major leap, with a release for the Nintendo Switch now confirmed for fall 2019. The news was revealed via a debut trailer for the Switch version, which can be seen below.
Rather than coming with an addition price point in tow, though, The Elder Scrolls: Blades will remain free-to-play on the Switch. This will no doubt be important to Bethesda, as keeping it free may well get extra players through to door simply to check it out. The Elder Scrolls: Blades may well be a good fit for the Switch, too, given the platform's ability to be played out on the go.
The issue of its pay-to-win mechanics is certainly something that needs to be addressed, though. The Elder Scrolls: Blades has come under lots of valid criticism over its model, with players having to wait for things like chests to open in order to get new equipment. In essence, it leaves players waiting an extremely long amount of time to play the game, or to pay extra money to speed things up.
Whether The Elder Scrolls: Blades will be a success on Switch remains to be seen, but Bethesda will be hoping it fills a void. After all, with The Elder Scrolls 6 designed for a decade of play, it may be a while before it sees the light of day.
Want more E3 2019 news? Be sure to head on over to our E3 hub to check out what's been revealed so far.
