The Elder Scrolls Online will launch using a subscription-based model before transitioning to free-to-play, according to analyst Nicholas Lovell, founder of video game consultancy Gamesbrief.
Lovell told Edge that Bethesda will realise subscription models are on the way out.
"It is conceivable that Bethesda will launch with a subscription service to attract the early adopters, because that is the model they understand," he said.
"They will switch to free-to-play later, in the same way that many iOS games go from paid to freemium over their lifetime," he added. "EA is struggling with The Old Republic, [but] almost everyone else is transitioning to free-to-play."
SWTOR has lost 400,000 of its 1.7 million paying subscribers since February.
By Ben Salter - Bio