Having to be one of the snuggest fits between license and game genre, an Elder Scrolls MMO has been heavily rumoured for years now. But with two of the most ambitious and gloriously epic role-playing games of this generation having satiated our appetite for the license somewhat in the time since, it’s all but been left by the wayside. Until now that is, as Bethesda has eeked out the first tantalising details of what promises to be the MMO to end all other.

Given the fact gamers’ adoration of The Elder Scrolls largely lies in its ability to craft telling and captivating stories side-by-side with wondrous exploration, the meeting of new folk across the many distinct and disparate villages of the land, and picking up the odd quest or two on your perilous journey to the pre-defined level-cap, an MMO based on the property is a no-brainer. On this basis, it’ll live up the billing and then some.

A more in-depth look at the game is due in the June issue of Game Informer, but that's not to mean the publication hasn't given us some snippets of information to chew on until then. The game will reportedly cover the entire continent of Tamriel - including Morrowind, Oblivion's Cyrodil and Skyrim – and will feature player vs. player combat, public dungeons (what Elder Scrolls will be craving until release date, I'm sure) as well as what ought to be another engrossing storyline. Set 1000 years before The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Online takes place in a contintent living in fear of daedric prince Molag Bal as he “tries to pull all of Tamriel into his demonic realm.”

In development at Zenimax Online Studios – a studio with Mythic Entertainment (Dark Age Of Camelot) DNA running through its veins – and due out on PC and MAC sometime next year, its game director Matt Firor certainly shows no signs of the pressure heaped on the team for what will surely be the most anticipated massively multiplayer game for quite some years. “The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.” It's a World Of Warcraft toppler several years in the making.

Richard Birkett