Analyst predicts The Elder Scrolls Online will use subscription model before free-to-play

Gamesbrief consultant Nicholas Lovell predicts that The Elder Scrolls Online will follow a monthly payment plan before adopting a free-to-play model later on.

"I still believe that subscription games are on the way out," Lovell told Edge. "It is conceivable that Bethesda will launch with a subscription service to attract the early adopters, because that is the model they understand."

Subscription numbers for both Blizzard's World of Warcraft and EA's Star Wars: The Old Republic have shown a decline by two million and 24% of gamers, respectively.

The Elder Scrolls Online is slated to release in 2013 for PC and Mac. ZeniMax Online Studios has been developing the MMO since 2007.

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