Nintendo Switch is getting The Elder Scrolls: Blades, and it’s going to be free

Mobile game goes hybrid

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Can’t get enough of The Elder Scrolls universe? Then if you’re the proud owner of aNintendo Switchconsole, you’re soon going to be able to playThe Elder Scrolls: Bladeson Nintendo’s hybrid console.

Announced during the BethesdaE3 2019conference, so-called “Switch Blades” will launch “this fall” and will be totally free…to play. It’ll still have the microtransactions that made the iOS and Android versions of the game a bit of a pain, unfortunately. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch, even in Tamriel.

What’s new

If you’ve played the game on mobile devices, your progress in the dungeon crawling RPG will carry over to the new Nintendo Switch version. As is standard with Switch games, it’ll support mobile and docked TV play, bringing Blades to bigger screens for the first time.

The game is also getting a huge new update across all versions of the title, with a new dragon-filled questline becoming available immediately after the Bethesda showcase.

There was a lot of excitement for The Elder Scrolls: Blades leading up to its initial mobile launch, but the game suffered from some stingy free-to-play mechanics. It’s improved since launch, but still has some way to go to living up to the superb Elder Scrolls heritage. Here’s hoping the jump to Nintendo’s console inspires a more generous play experience.

As forThe Elder Scrolls 6? Looks like we’re going to have to wait for E3 2020 to find out more about the next big game in the series…

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Gerald is Editor-in-Chief of iMore.com. Previously he was the Executive Editor for TechRadar, taking care of the site’s home cinema, gaming, smart home, entertainment and audio output. He loves gaming, but don’t expect him to play with you unless your console is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system. Before TechRadar, Gerald was Editor of Gizmodo UK. He is also the author of ‘Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future’, published by Aurum Press.

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