The Elder Scrolls: Blades is out now for iPhone, iPad, and Android - sort of
Early access only
You can definitely file this one in the good news / bad news section. The good news is that the long-awaited, mobile-exclusive action RPG set in one of the most famous fantasy settings in gaming, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, is now available for Android, iPhone, and iPad.
The bad news is that it isn't really. Right now there are pages on both the App Store and the Google Play Store where you can, if you have a compatible device, download the client for the game. But if you want to actually play it, you're going to have to wait for an invitation to the early access program that's running right now.
It's a soft launch, kinda
Really then this is an invitation-only soft launch. You can download the game, poke at the screen for a bit, but then you're going to be met with a log-in screen. From there you'll need to add in your Bethesda account. If you've not received an invitation to the Early Access event on that account, then that's pretty much as far as you're going to get.However we have been able to dig a few little morsels of information out of the slightly revamped store page. For one thing we can see that IAPs in the game are going to get you gems. Prices for them range from £1.99 up to £99.99. There's also something called a Starter Pack available for £4.99, which we're gonna guess gets you some gems and some equipment if you buy it when you first start the game.
It's also looking like some multiplayer components of the game - The Arena specifically - aren't going to be available until after the initial launch of the game.
In a way that's a good thing, because it means we might get to see the game earlier than we would have otherwise. It's also a bit sucky though, because we won't be getting the full experience on day one.
Here's all the blurb from the App Store page as well, so you can have a quick peruse of it -
From Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim, comes The Elder Scrolls: Blades – a classic dungeon crawler reimagined. The Blades, the Empire’s top agents, are forced into exile. On the run, you return to your hometown to find it destroyed. KEY FEATURES: QUEST and Experience stunning dungeon adventures. CREATE and customize your city, restoring it to greatness. CONQUER your friends and rivals in epic one-on-one Arena battles.* CREATE any character you want and discover unique weapons, armor, and abilities. MASTER the never-ending Abyss with a cutting-edge combat system. *NOTE: Arena modes will be added after the initial launch of The Elder Scrolls: Blades.You can click here to go and register for the early access event. And, of course, we'll let you know as soon as the game is available world wide.
There seems to be a decent amount of discontent among people who've seen that the game's live, downloaded it, and then been faced with needing an invite they don't have to get to play. What do you think? Has Bethesda handled this a little weird, could it have done things differently? Let us know in the comments below.
