Fans’ request for an Elder Scroll MMO, or at least a game which support co-op play, has now been realized. The game will be released in 2013.

Called The Elder Scrolls Online, the game is being developed by Zenimax Online, and will mark the first entry into the franchise that supports multiplayer (from release, anyway) since the series debuted 18 years ago.

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The latest in the series, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, was one of the biggest release in 2011 and shipped more than 10 million copies worldwide before the end of the year. The game received numerous Game of the Year awards, and was praised for its huge open world and almost endless content.

Previous Elder Scrolls games have been developed by Bethesda, a subsidiary of Zenimax's Online parent company Zenimax.

Zenimax is an MMO-centric studio, and is headed by Matt Firor, who worked on Dark Age of Camelot with Mythic Entertainment (now BioWare Mythic).

The game marks Zenimax Online's first release, and will explore a new period in the Elder Scrolls history. It is set a millennium before the events of Skyrim, as deadric prince Molag Bal attempts to bring Tamriel into his demonic realm. It will release in North America, Europe and Japan in 2013 for Windows and Macs.

The game also marks the June cover of GameInformer.

"It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made - and one that is worth of the Elder Scrolls franchise," Matt Firor, the game director, said.

GameInformer will take a look at solo questing to public dungeons, along with PvP. It's likely the July issue will feature regular interviews and video of the game. On Friday a teaser trailer for the title will be released.

Elder Scrolls Online will mark the third year to release a new MMORPG: 2011 brought Star Wars: The Old Republic, 2012 will bring Guild Wars 2 - though it has no confirmed release date, but is coming in 2012 - while 2013 will bring The Elder Scrolls Online.

(reported by Jonathan Charles, edited by Dave Clark)

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