So far E3 has delivered some very exciting news for gamers, and Bethesda really brought it this year. In addition to the impressive Rage 2 and Fallout 76 reveals, developer Todd Howard also showcased an all-new mobile offering. The Elder Scrolls: Blades draws inspiration from the Elder Scrolls days of yore, with more Arena and Daggerfall-inspired experiences. Although Bethesda calls it a “massive first-person roleplaying game created for mobile,” Blades isn’t just for your phone. The game will be a truly cross-platform experience, as Howard explained. Gamers will be able to play against PC and console players on their smartphones, and vice versa.

How is “Elder Scrolls Blades” different from previous titles in the series?

The game will offer a ton of exciting features, many of which are unique to the Elder Scrolls franchise. These include randomly-generated dungeons, player-versus-player arena combat and town-building gameplay. The upcoming multiplayer RPG will also offer the ability to visit and explore not only the city a player can build but other players’ cities, as well. In-game combat incorporates roleplaying elements like loot, stats and magic, while also offering multiple ways to utilize the real-time combat system, from controllers, to a mouse and keyboard, to a series of swipes and taps on mobile to guide your weapon’s strikes and ripostes.

Elder Scrolls on your phone

We didn’t receive much detail on exactly what type of multiplayer game modes Elder Scrolls Blades will offer. They did indicate, however, that both cooperative and player-versus-player gameplay would be available. Footage of the title also featured arena combat with both fellow players and NPCs, promising a ton of action for the more competitive fans of the series. In addition to dungeons, Bethesda showcased open-world gameplay in high definition, promising fans that they will have a rich, expansive realm to explore in keeping with previous Elder Scrolls titles. Another exciting feature that Howard spoke of was the fact that, unlike the majority of mobile games, Blades can be played in its entirety in profile mode. This means that players will not have to tilt their phone sideways to play the game. Howard jokingly boasted that players could be in a meeting, and no one would know that they’re playing a game. This adds layers of privacy and convenience to the gameplay which definitely be appealing to the users. He also promised fans that the game would use dedicated servers, much like Fallout 76. He ensures this will allow gamers to play Blades anywhere, at any time, over a period of many years.

Bethesda Softworks had been quiet for quite some time and now it’s evident why that was the case. The company had many projects in development and the showcase at E3 unleashed them all. With such a large slate of announcements, we’re all still in the process of digesting it all. If Bethesda’s mission was to drum up excitement, they succeeded. Fans are certainly expecting plenty of great content from the company, both for 2018 and beyond.