Elder Scrolls: Blades Is Now Live (For Some)

Bethesda has announced that The Elder Scrolls: Blades is now available for players who registered for early access prior to March 25. Players are being given access in waves, though, so you might have to wait a little bit longer to play the whole game, even if you pre-ordered the game and signed up early. Also, you have to pre-register on Bethesda's website, which is a separate process from pre-ordering the game.

"The first wave of The Elder Scrolls: Blades early access went smoothly, so we invited the next wave," Bethesda wrote in a tweet. "If you registered after [March 25] don't worry, we're sending invites daily." In a follow-up tweet, Bethesda revealed there is a "delay in account authentication," but the company is working to fix the problem "as soon as possible."

Blades is a mobile installment in The Elder Scrolls series, which Bethesda describes as a "pure Elder Scrolls game" with "console-quality graphics." The major difference between Blades and previous The Elder Scrolls games is that Blades doesn't have an open world. Instead, it's a series of interconnected environments--some of which are still "very large," according to Bethesda.

"We could do it," Bethesda director and executive producer Todd Howard said, when asked about possibly implementing an open-world into Blades. "We'll see how people interact with it. Because it's mobile, we know people may play... We need you to get something meaningful done in 10 or 15 minutes. Do you know what I mean? Even though you could sit down and play it for as many hours as you want."

The Elder Scrolls: Blades was originally scheduled to release on Android and iOS devices in Fall 2018, but it was delayed. The game is free to download. Bethesda has said there are plans to bring the game to PC and consoles in the future, but there is no planned release window for those versions.