Lorespade's ESO PvP Stream So I Was Wrong PvP Is Alive And Well In Elder Scrolls Online Oct 1st 2020

The Elder Scrolls Online had been in development for seven years before its release in 2014. It is the first project for ZeniMax Online Studios, which was formed in 2007. Matt Firor, studio lead at ZeniMax Online, is the director of The Elder Scrolls Online. ZeniMax Online licensed the HeroEngine in November 2007. It was used as a whiteboard for the game in early development while the production engine was in development. The game was funded using funds from Providence Equity Partners, as well as the success of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion helped fund the game.

While rumors of a massively multiplayer The Elder Scrolls game had been circulating for years, with the first being a domain registration by ZeniMax Media in November 2007 for ElderScrollsOnline.com. Information about the game and its imminent May 2012 announcement was not leaked until March 2012, to online publication Tom's Guide by an anonymous industry source. According to the leak, the game was scheduled to be shown at E3 2012 in June and QuakeCon 2012 in August. On November 8, 2012, Bethesda released a video on YouTube called "An Introduction to The Elder Scrolls Online", in which the game's developers talk about the game's content and development. Several actors were announced to voice the characters of The Elder Scrolls Online, among them John Cleese, Bill Nighy, Kate Beckinsale, Lynda Carter, Alfred Molina, Michael Gambon, Jennifer Hale, Malcolm McDowell, and Peter Stormare. Beta sign-ups for The Elder Scrolls Online began on January 21, 2013, and continued for seven rounds until February 26.

In June 2013, Sony announced that The Elder Scrolls Online would be available on PlayStation 4 at their E3 press conference. It was later clarified by Bethesda that it would also be available on Xbox One. While players on Windows and Mac play together, those on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 play only with others on the same platform. In August 2013, at gamescom, it was announced that The Elder Scrolls Online would have a monthly subscription fee upon release for all platforms. Subscriptions could be purchased in 30-, 90-, and 180-day increments. While it was announced in January 2014 that the game would not require a PlayStation Plus subscription to play online, the Xbox One version would require an Xbox Live Gold subscription in addition to a The Elder Scrolls Online monthly subscription. On May 8, 2014, Bethesda spoke about development of the console editions, announcing that the release date for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game would be delayed until the end of 2014, though it was revealed in December 2014 that the game's console debut was once again delayed into the Spring of 2015. ZeniMax Online Studios announced that players who purchased The Elder Scrolls Online before the end of June 2014 would have the opportunity to transfer their characters from Microsoft Windows or Mac OS to either console platform and receive a free 30-day subscription.