New Elder Scrolls Game, Blades, Is Now Available

Bethesda has announced The Elder Scrolls: Blades is now open to all iOS and Android users. The game is free to download on both platforms, although you will still need a Bethesda net account in order to play.

Now that Blades is available for all--after initially releasing the game in stages--Bethesda already has its eyes set on tweaking the game. "Next up: We're looking at all your feedback and rebalancing the most difficult enemy in the game… the silver chest," the studio tweeted.

Blades is the first mobile installment in The Elder Scrolls series, although Bethesda still describes the title as a "pure Elder Scrolls game" with "console-quality graphics." Unlike The Elder Scrolls games on PC and consoles, Blades doesn't have an open world. Instead, the game is composed of 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 implementing an open-world in 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."

Blades had been delayed from it's original launch date of Fall 2018 for Android and iOS devices. Although there are plans to port the game to both PC and consoles, Bethesda hasn't announced any planned release window for those versions.

The next mainline The Elder Scrolls game was first teased during E3 2018. Currently only titled The Elder Scrolls VI, Bethesda has announced that the game will not be shown off at E3 2019. Neither will Starfield, which is currently scheduled to release prior to the upcoming The Elder Scrolls game.