The Elder Scrolls Online was supposed to be 'the next big MMORPG.' Now that it's been out for some time, we've had a chance to see its viability in a market so cornered by titles such as World of Warcraft, among others – but mostly World of Warcraft.
The Elder Scrolls Online has, until recently, offered gamers the option to subscribe to the game for six months at a time. The cost per month is about fifteen dollars, and grants players complete access to the game. This six month payment option has been removed, though, and bodes ill tidings for the game's future.
While most MMOs generally go free-to-play, you'll generally see this occur after they've been out for a long time. One day, even World of Warcraft will probably see free-to-play options made available. That said, the secret is making your profit before that happens, which is something I don't feel The Elder Scrolls Online has achieved.
In six months, you can probably expect to hear that The Elder Scrolls Online will be going free-to-play, which is actually quite a death sentence for the game. If your only source of income is through microtransactions, it can be very hard to support an MMO's infrastructure and still have it be profitable.
