The Elder Scrolls Online would be a 'lesser game' if free-to-play, Bethesda argues

The Elder Scrolls Online is the rare MMO that will launch with a subscription fee. Surely, the company would attract a larger audience by going free-to-play? Bethesda VP Pete Hines defended his company's decision, saying that restricting the audience was intentional. "We're not trying to make a game that everybody who plays games will automatically buy," he said. "It is a certain kind of game. There's no shooter elements. There's no aliens."

Read more: Not tryign to make 'more palatable' game »

Blizzard's collectible card game Hearthstone officially launched yesterday as free-to-play, with a little free-to-pony touch on top. Playing only a few Hearthstone matches will net you a special flying horse mount to gallivant around atop in World of Warcraft.

Watch: Space pony, away! »

Take-Two, parent company of 2K Games and Rockstar, has placed a casting call for an "untitled video game." According to the listing, the game will feature three males born in Louisiana--all who have connections to organized crime. Tony, for example, is an Italian man in his 30s that runs betting operations. He's described as a "gangster." Mickey is another Italian male who makes "himself seem higher up in the criminal ladder than he really is."

Read more: African American mixed race star »

Carbine's upcoming sci-fi fantasy MMORPG, WildStar, is just about to ready to venture into new galaxies. The game will be available for pre-order starting on March 19 and with this announcement comes an official release date. WildStar will take to the skies on June 3.

Read more: Standard and Deluxe pre-order incentives »

Fable Legends will use the Xbox One Kinect, Lionhead has revealed. But unlike Fable: The Journey, Kinect will only be a secondary control option for specialized situations, and the majority will rely on the main Xbox One controller.

Read more: Kinect possible "especially potentially with the villain mode" »

Metal Gear Solid's main character, Solid Snake, has the gravel voice and mullet of Snake Plissken from the Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. films. But even with creator Hideo Kojima's film-loving sensibilities, and contrary to some previous comments, his name had more to do with the reputation of his animal namesake than the Kurt Russell character.

Read more: "The most appropriate symbol of living thing that hides his presence" »

This year is shaping up to be a big one for Game of Thrones fans. The new season of the HBO series begins on April 7, Telltale is working on a new, and now the popular Facebook game from developer Disruptor Beam, Game of Thrones: Ascent, is about to make the leap onto iOS devices this spring.

Read more: Android coming later »

The latest trailer for BioShock Infinite's upcoming Burial at Sea conclusion is not only a marketing tool meant to entice you to buy the DLC, but it's also a portfolio for studio members affected by Irrational's sudden closure. In addition to footage, the trailer clearly points out what each team member contributed, and offers easy links to their resumes. That's a pretty classy act--all things considered.

Watch: These people want new jobs »

The Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is finally out of beta. Blizzard has announced that Hearthstone is officially launched today on PC and Mac.

Read more: Play for free today »

What do bears have against art? That's the question developer Halfbrick asks for its latest, Bears vs Art. This is the studio's first puzzle game, after having made action games like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride.

Watch: The debut trailer »

Dong Nguyen isn't a household name. But his game, Flappy Bird, is. When Nguyen pulled the game for ruining his "simple life," hundreds of clones immediately flooded app stores, as developers attempted to take advantage of the bird-shaped hole in people's hearts.

Read more: Flappy Bird may be coming back »

It was an inevitability, but Sony Online Entertainment has confirmed that EverQuest Next will indeed be coming to PlayStation 4 in the future. EverQuest franchise director Dave Georgeson recently spoke about some of the features that this version of the MMORPG will contain, while also describing new voice chat integration that will be hitting EverQuest Next Landmark in the near future.

Watch: More coming in the Year of EverQuest »

An HD remake of the homebrew Genesis RPG Pier Solar and the Great Architects is in the works, Most versions are slated for release on March 25, including PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Android, Ouya, and even Dreamcast. An Xbox One release is also in the works.

The original Pier Solar came out in 2010. Late last year, Watermelon successfully raised $231,000 on Kickstarter, topping its goal of $139,000. The extra funding helped provide stretch goals including the Android, Ouya, and Wii U versions.

Watch: New teaser-trailer for homebrew »

Titanfall launched today on Xbox One and PC (review here). With PlayStation platforms forever excluded from this Microsoft-exclusive, some have been wondering: why is there no cross-platform play? The Xbox 360 version is one reason to blame.

Read more: Patching to blame »

From finishing off a rival Titan by ripping out its pilot, to detonating a Titan to destroy a squad of enemy soldiers, Titanfall is filled with numerous moments of sheer fun. Whether you're jumping on a Titan's back and shooting away at its battery like a mosquito sucking blood, or ripping the arms off a rival unit and beating it to death with them, there are so many OMG moments that, even after several hours of play, there's still little surprises to discover.

The focus on fun is evident in every aspect of Titanfall's design. Even basic traversal is engaging, with double-jumps and wall-runs allowing players to easily reach higher ground. Whereas infantry are agile, the titular Titans tower above other players, and it's easy to feel like a lumbering threat whenever jumping into the cockpit. Respawn has done a remarkable job conveying scale, but piloting is still accessible to anyone that's familiar with the core first-person controls. Their abilities are seemingly over-powered, with devastating firepower and a shield that can deflect enemy projectiles. However, there are numerous other abilities that make sure that neither soldiers nor Titans ever get too much of an upper hand.

Read more: It's time to drop your Titan »