I'm not saying that ESO should or is going to go f2p, but we all have to understand that this issue may come up down the road after release. I do not wish to discuss payment models of ESO in this thread.

Create from what's created

What I suggest is instead of converting ESO to f2p if it doesn't meet financial expectations, to make a game separate from ESO. This is very similar to what Bioware/Mythic did with Warhammer in Wrath of Heroes. Although WoH failed, moreso from design and balance issues, I think they had a great idea.

Bioware/Mythic used resources from Warhammer to make Wraith of Heroes. Development cost versus worth still may be an issue in an ESO conversion, that goes without saying, but it's not as costly as creating a new game from scratch nor will it jeopardize the integrity of ESO by converting to f2p after release.

What type of game?

I imagine this standalone game to be something like a battle arena. Players can purchase premade named characters (this model is used in many MOBAs including LoL and Smite) for a small fee as well as different skins/armor sets. They should also be able to earn currency to unlock these characters by playing (again popular in many mobas).

These playable characters could be released monthly, closely representing classes/playstyles within ESO. Appearances such as weapons and armor would be cosmetic for fair and balanced gameplay. The game modes would be variations of plots, ctf, deathmatch, or other creative objective-based matches... including 3 sided battles.

Again Wraith of Heroes was awesome fun in the first few betas. They introduced 6v6v6 battles and it was great. Where the game failed was in the pricing model and balancing. Players were greatly rewarded for doing well, like instagibbing all enemies if they had a long killing streak, leaving solo queues at a disadvantage. They also released elite tactics that was up to 3x better than other tactics but you couldn't purchase them outright, you had to buy a chest and then got a random elite tactic.

Entice the free2players to sub

You could also tie this into ESO and encourage subs by allowing subscribers the option to play with their character model. Zenimax could do this a few different ways; all skills in ESO could have their own version in this standalone game allowing players to play their character closely to how they play in ESO or they could just use the skills/abilities of a premade character within their class (but with their own character model).

DISCLAIMER: I think they should be careful not to reward players for playing the standalone game but rather reward subscribers for playing ESO. They should not tie these titles together so closely that people are discouraged from playing in Cyrodiil. I don't want to see them make the same mistake as Warhammer by draining their RvR lakes to fill scenario queues.

Why?

My first reason why is that I personally enjoy the MOBA genre and where it is going. The genre is expanding and redefining itself as time goes by. So far only Smite and Archblade use a different view other than iso/overhead. The popularity of battle arenas is growing, and it would be nice to have a dog in the race when Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm is released.

Second, it would be beneficial to introduce frugal players to ESO without having to pay first. The standalone game would function similar to a free trial using abilities and common playstyles in the game to show off combat in ESO.

Lastly it could add a way for players to experience instant battles without taking too much away from ESO and Cyrodiil. The standalone game would attract a different market and allow subscribers to also participate while keeping things separate from ESO ~ as long as subscribers are not rewarded in ESO by playing the standalone game.

Summary: Create a separate standalone game using the resources of ESO to appeal to a different market instead of going f2p (if it comes to that).

Saying "I don't want to talk about payment models" and then going on to talk about payment models does not make this any less of a payment model thread.

so if the game doesn't meet financial expectation your idea is for them to spend millions more making a free to play moba?

No this isn't a good idea in any way.

Not necessarily. The dev team at Mythic did a conversion way under a million - and they were working with a small team while updating Warhammer. The engine, model, abilities are already created and that cuts out a lot of cost.

Overall I'm saying IF it comes down to making ESO f2p OR making a f2p moba from ESO, I would prefer the latter. Neither you or I know the actual costs involved.

Didn't read past the title.

No.

So in order to not become F2P ( something that happens when game stops being popular and therefore starts losing money) they should waste their money to create another game (that will most likely suffer the same fate as the MMO because a) mechanics for MMO are diffrent then thouse in MOBA, and b )current market is over saturated by much more popular MOBA games )

I think we might get a f2p model 1 year after launch if game has less then 1 miljon subs

We don't know if they would waste more money converting ESO to a f2p model or just making a standalone game. It would allow them to create an alternative revenue stream without taking away from ESO's subscription model. If done correctly it could even help to bring players to ESO.

MOBA mechanics are not set in stone, there is no reason why MMO mechanics wouldn't work. It would be similar to adding instanced battles without adding them directly into the game and taking away from Cyrodiil.

Most MOBAs are still doing the lane game. Some are branching out to include other modes but if ESO did a MOBA it would not be in competition with a majority of the more popular MOBAS. Plus I would think that the MMO market is more saturated than MOBAs - in my opinion it would be good business to have a hand in both.

I honestly don't want to discuss when or if they go f2p. There is a chance that it will come up down the road and I'm only suggesting an alternative.

If this thread is to remain open, we need to steer clear of discussing payment plans and options. Focus on what it says under the 'summary' and discuss the merits and flaws of that.

Bad idea. All around. Merry Christmas.

YEAH lets create a new game just to money grab and make it so eso becomes a moba. no

I don't like this idea at all, after spending nearly 7 years developing ESO, they would start a while new one? Nah.

I agree, folks will either like the dev's vision or they will not.. /shrug

Well since we're apparently allowed to talk about this in this context, I'd like to throw my lot in with the "this is a terrible idea" crowd.

Why spread the development team around to create what would certainly be an inferior product?

I can understand most of the arguments against it but keep in mind that this would be a separate game and genre from ESO. It would use the resources from ESO, cutting out a lot of development time, but it shouldn't take developers away from ESO.

What if Zenimax/Bethesda announced that they would be making a MOBA? The community was assured that no development would be taken from their MMO (like we are assured that TES will still have single player games created by Bethesda). I'm not asking anyone to like MOBAs but there is a market there for these games (if you're into MOBAs you have to remember that the genre is not limited to the 3 lanes game anymore). There is room for innovation and making two games out of one isn't a terrible idea.

People don't look down on the gorilla for making a card game, MOBA, and MMO using the same IP.

In all honesty I would just stick to the single player games Bethesda make, Fallout and ES.

Why should they divert resources away from it at all? That's just ridiculous. Let another branch of the company or another team entirely work on it.