Publisher says it has spoken with Microsoft about possibility of dropping Xbox Live Gold membership fee for upcoming MMORPG.
Bethesda is “pushing” Microsoft to make a special exception in the case of upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game The Elder Scrolls Online and drop the Xbox Live Gold fee for gamers interested in playing that title on Xbox One.
Speaking with OXM, Bethesda vice president of PR and marketing Pete Hines acknowledged that the Xbox Live subscription fee–about $5 per month–pays for services not specific to any particular title. However, he said Bethesda is working with Microsoft on potentially changing the rules.
“Having said that, we have been in talks with Microsoft about that very thing, and seeing whether or not there’s any room to change their minds about that,” Hines said. “For folks who are only paying [sic] The Elder Scrolls Online and don’t want to pay for an Xbox Live Gold subscription, just to pay [sic] the Elder Scrolls Online.”
Hines said right now there is no way around the Xbox Live Gold fee, but made clear that the issue is “something that we’re aware of and we keep pushing on to see if there’s something that can be done.”
The Elder Scrolls Online will carry a $15/month subscription fee for PC. For the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions, players will need to pay this fee in addition to Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus membership costs.
World of Tanks developer Wargaming CEO Victor Kislyi said in June that he was unhappy with the Xbox Live Gold requirement for free-to-play game World of Tanks, though he said there is nothing he can do about it.
“They cannot drop it for us because they would have to drop it for everyone and it would be a total mess for them. This we have to tolerate, which I am not happy about,” he said at the time.
The Elder Scrolls Online is aiming for release on the PC, Xbox One, and PS4 in spring 2014, though official release dates have not been announced. For more on the MMO game, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.
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