As the game that finally made the Elder Scrolls franchise multiplayer after decades of single player adventuring, The Elder Scrolls Online was one of the most highly anticipated games of 2014. Unfortunately, Elder Scrolls fans on PS4 and Xbox One were unable to play the game at the same time as the PC and Mac versions of the title, as the console versions of TESO were delayed by over a year.

When publisher Bethesda and developer ZeniMax Online announced the delay, they explained that they had to "solve a series of unique problems specific to those platforms" and that "integrating [their] systems with each console manufacturer’s networks–which are both different from the PC/Mac system as well as different from each other–[had] been a challenging process." Additionally, The Elder Scrolls Online also underwent huge changes at the beginning of the year as the game dropped its subscription fees and only required an initial purchase of the game in order to play. This huge shift could have been another reason why console players have had to wait so long for the title to be released.

Although many players were disappointed by this lengthy waiting time, many understood that it was necessary in order to get a quality experience. Given that games like Assassin's Creed Unity, Driveclub, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection had all suffered from bugs that made them almost unplayable, extra development time would hopefully be worth it for The Elder Scrolls Online. But unfortunately, that extra development time doesn't seem to have paid off as TESO players are now reporting major issues with the game's console launch.

Many TESO players are saying that they are unable to log in and play the game and this problem appears to be occurring across PS4 and Xbox One consoles on both the North American and European servers. Meanwhile, players that have actually been able to play TESO say that they have encountered several serious bugs. These include: disappearing NPCs, issues with the friend system, and even being kicked from the game for spamming the chat, despite these players not having sent a single message.

Replying to users on the official TESO forum, a ZeniMax admin explained that the server problems stem from the fact that there is an "overwhelming demand" for the game and a "high volume of traffic" trying to log in. The admin advised players suffering from the login issue to just keep trying to login until they reach a screen that informs them that they have been placed in a queue. As for the other bugs, ZeniMax has clarified that the chat banning is a server-side issue and that they are looking into the problem. There's no word on whether or not the developer is monitoring the other troubles.

While any issue with a game would be frustrating at launch, The Elder Scrolls Online players are particularly unhappy with the game's performance due to the fact that the game hosted a closed console beta prior to launch. At the time, Bethesda and ZeniMax were hit with criticism as players said that having a closed beta made them unable to properly stress test the game and it appears that the game's launch is now showing the consequences. Plus, The Elder Scrolls Online also has a 15GB day one patch on consoles so it is understandably upsetting for players to see that the game is still plagued with problems despite that massive install.

Have you encountered issues with The Elder Scrolls Online? Should Bethesda and ZeniMax have delayed the game further, before they released it on PS4 and Xbox One? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Source: The Express, TESO Forums