User:Razr Nation/List of The Elder Scrolls video games

The Elder Scrolls (abbreviated as TES) is an action role-playing open world video game series developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The Elder Scrolls games take place on the fictional world of Nirn, on the continent of Tamriel, a large landmass divided into nine provinces. The actual Elder Scrolls play a very limited role in the storyline of the series, serving only as framing plot device, and are rarely referred to in-game, or even in the in-game literature. The first game, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, was released in 1994. It was intended for players to assume the role of an arena combatant, but development shifted the game into a role-playing game (RPG), beginning a tradition that persists throughout the series' history.[1] The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall was published in 1996. Fueled by the modest success of Arena, Daggerfall was even more ambitious than its predecessor, featuring one of the first true 3D worlds on a large scale, a game world claimed to be the size of Great Britain.[2]

After the release of spin-off games An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire and The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard in 1997 and 1998, respectively, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, released in 2002, saw a return to the old-style expansive and non-linear gameplay, and a shift towards individually detailed landscapes and items, with a smaller game-world than past titles.[3] The game achieved commercial success, and sold over four million units by mid-2005.[4] Two expansions were released between late 2002 and early 2003: The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal and The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon. Development of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion began in 2002, and focused on artificial intelligence improvements that interact dynamically with the game-world.[5] Released in 2006, the game achieved commercial success and critical acclaim; expansion packs Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles were released for the game.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was announced on December 11, 2010, at the Spike Video Game Awards 2010.[6] The game is not a direct sequel to its predecessor, Oblivion, but instead takes place 200 years later, in the land called Skyrim, in Tamriel. It was released on November 11, 2011 to critical acclaim, and two expansion sets, Dawnguard and Dragonborn, have been released as of December 2012. The Elder Scrolls Online, a massively multiplayer role-playing video game developed by ZeniMax Online Studios, was announced on May 3, 2012, in an exclusive reveal by Game Informer.[7] The game is the first open-ended multiplayer installment of the franchise, and will be set a millennium before the events of the previous game in the series, Skyrim, although most of the continent of Tamriel will be playable in the game. The Elder Scrolls Online has been in development for 5 years prior to its announcement in May 2012 and is slated for release in 2013.[7]

Video games

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Key
Blank cell indicates title was not released on any platform(s) by the specified manufacturers
Cell with games console(s) indicates title was released on platform(s) by the specified manufacturers

Main games

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List of The Elder Scrolls main video games
Title Release details Platform(s)
Microsoft Nintendo Sega Sony Other
The Elder Scrolls: Arena[8]
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: 1994
DOS
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall[9]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: August 1996
DOS
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind[10]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher:
    • Bethesda Softworks
    • Ubisoft (Europe)
  • Release date:
    • Windows: May 2, 2002
    • Xbox: June 6, 2002
Windows
Xbox
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion[11]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher:
  • Release date:
    • Mobile: May 2, 2006
    • PlayStation 3: March 20, 2007
    • Windows: March 20, 2006
    • Xbox 360: March 20, 2006
Windows
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3 Mobile[a]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[12]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: November 11, 2011
Windows
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3

Expansions and other games

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List of The Elder Scrolls expansions and other games
Title Release details Platform(s)
Microsoft Nintendo Sega Sony Other
An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire[13]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: November 30, 1997
DOS
The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard[14]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: October 31, 1998
DOS
The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal[15]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: November 8, 2002
Windows
The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold[16]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: 2003
Mobile
The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon[17]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: June 4, 2003
Windows
The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar[18]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: 2004
Mobile
The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey[19]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher:
    • Vir2L Studios
    • TKO Software
  • Release date: November 9, 2004
Mobile[b]
The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine[20]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher:
    • Bethesda Softworks
    • Ubisoft (Europe)
  • Release date: November 21, 2006
Windows
Xbox 360[c]
The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles[21]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher:
    • Bethesda Softworks
    • 2K Games
  • Release date:
    • PlayStation 3: December 8, 2007
    • Windows: March 27, 2007
    • Xbox 360 (digital): March 26, 2007
    • Xbox 360 (retail): October 16, 2007
Windows
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard[22]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date:
    • Windows: August 2, 2012
    • Xbox 360: June 26, 2012
Windows
Xbox 360
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn[23]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date:
    • PlayStation 3: 2013
    • Windows: 2013
    • Xbox 360: December 4, 2012
Windows
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
The Elder Scrolls Online[7]
  • Genre: Action role-playing
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
  • Release date: 2013
Windows[d] Mac OS[d]

Notes

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  1. ^ The mobile version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was developed by Superscape.[11]
  2. ^ The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey was developed by Vir2L Studios and TKO Software.[19]
  3. ^ The Xbox 360 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine is only available through Xbox Live Marketplace.[20]
  4. ^ a b The Elder Scrolls Online is developed by ZeniMax Online Studios.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Arena – Behind the Scenes". Bethesda Softworks (ZeniMax Media). 2004. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007
  2. ^ "Daggerfall – Behind The Scenes". Bethesda Softworks (ZeniMax Media). Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  3. ^ "Morrowind, Behind the Scenes". The Elder Scrolls Tenth Anniversary. Bethesda Softworks. 2004. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
  4. ^ "Lynda Carter Joins the Voice Cast of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" (Press release). ZeniMax Media. August 17, 2005. Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  5. ^ Houghton, Mat. "Developers Corner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion". Game Chronicles. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
  6. ^ Christopher Grant (December 11, 2010). "Skyrim: Elder Scrolls 5 coming 11/11/11". Joystiq. AOL Inc. Retrieved December 11, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d The Elder Scrolls Online:
  8. ^ The Elder Scrolls: Arena
  9. ^ The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
  10. ^ The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
  11. ^ a b The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  12. ^ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
  13. ^ An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire:
  14. ^ The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard:
  15. ^ The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal:
  16. ^ The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold:
  17. ^ The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon:
  18. ^ The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar:
  19. ^ a b The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey
  20. ^ a b The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine:
  21. ^ The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles:
  22. ^ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard:
  23. ^ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn: