in the latest trailer for the MMO, the game’s producers reveal that the Daedric Lord Molag Bal is the key antagonist throughout the game’s main storyline. In fact, he steals the player’s character’s soul at the beginning, and players must fight to get it back. The quest will see players traveling to Coldharbour – the oblivion plane belonging to Molag Bal.

All of this certainly looks nice, but the real challenge will be convincing fans of Bethesda’s sprawling first-person RPGs to give The Elder Scrolls Online a shot. MMOs, especially those that are subscription based, are not exactly in vogue anymore. Still, Besthesda and Zenimax Online could knock it out of the park by creating an MMO that can last more than a few months before going free-to-play.

We’ll probably get a firm release date at E3, but The Elder Scrolls Online is still set for launch later this year.

ArenaNet announced today that Super Adventure Box, an 8-bit homage to the games of yesteryear, is a new area that will be available to Guild Wars 2 players for the entirety of April.

I usually dread April Fools’ Day, but ArenaNet has made my day with this little stunt. The fact that it’s a real area within the game makes it even better. I stopped playing Guild Wars 2 months ago, but I might just have to jump back in for this.

[h/t: Kotaku]

Eve Online is the science fiction MMO that allows players to operate and own their own spaceships while participating in a player-created universe full of political intrigue and trade negotiations. Because of the game’s heavy reliance on trade and economics, it is often disparagingly (or lovingly) referred to as “spreadsheets in space.” Though the game isn’t free-to-play, players who have enough of Eve‘s in-game currency can purchase monthly subscriptions with it.

“Ten years after release, it is incredibly inspiring that, through a lot of hard work from our Eve Online team, we are crossing the half-million subscriber mark,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP. “For me, this is a true testament that Eve can live on forever, as long as we do right by her. We have not come to this point alone; millions of players have helped push us to this milestone. I now know in my mind what I previously only believed in my heart: that Eve will outlive us all.”

In January, CCP began an open beta on the PlayStation 3 console for its new game, Dust 514. Dust 514 is a free-to-play first-person shooter that shares the same world as Eve Online. Actions taken in either game can affect the economy, politics, and outcome of battles in the other.

Today Naoki Yoshida, director of A Realm Reborn, took to the PlayStation Blog this week and announced that PlayStation 3 gamers will soon get a chance to try out the game through a phase of the beta test that is “about to commence.” Players can sign up for the beta at Square Enix’s website.

A Realm Reborn will feature homages from classic Final Fantasy titles such as Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII. From the blog post:

We consider it one of our missions to reacquaint gamers all over the world with the wonders of Final Fantasy. To this end, we’ll be incorporating the most memorable elements of the series into A Realm Reborn. Mind you, this won’t be limited only to the game’s launch; in subsequent patches, we plan to keep adding more great stuff from Final Fantasy’s 25-year history. For starters, adventurers will be able to take on the Crystal Tower (FFIII) raid dungeon, do battle with classic summons (such as Ifrit, Titan, and Leviathan), and ride magitek armor (FFVI). It goes without saying that there’ll be moogles and chocobos as well. Your trusty steed will fight beside you in battle, and can also be dressed up in neat costumes. Future patches will introduce series mainstay Gilgamesh, and also the fun and excitement of the Gold Saucer (FFVII).

In conjunction with the beta announcement, a new trailer for the game has also been released. Though it is labeled as an “Exploration Trailer,” it features plenty of battle footage.

Of course, that was before it became clear that the game was hemorrhaging subscribers, before the massive layoffs that hit Bioware Austin, and before the game embraced the free-to-play business model.

This year’s in-game event begins tomorrow, February 12 and lasts until February 26. Titled “Relics of the Gree,” the event will task players with uncovering the mystery of an advanced Gree ship that has appeared in orbit around the planet Ilum. Bioware has described the event as one that will be “recurring” throughout the rest of 2013.

The new teaser trailer for the content shows plenty of space slugs and a giant wampa for players to slay.

The sign-up questionnaire can be found on The Elder Scrolls Online website here. The questions include guild affiliation, previous MMOs played, previous Elder Scrolls games played, play style, and a DxDiag file from your computer.

Gamers who are selected for beta testing will get access to early versions of the game. Bethesda even mentioned that the first beta test will begin “soon.” Of course, “soon” in the MMO world is very relative.

To celebrate the big announcement, Bethesda also released a big trailer for the upcoming MMO. The trailer, called “The Alliances” is a nearly 6-minute cinematic tease for ZeniMax Online’s vision of a multiplayer Elder Scrolls experience.

Today, Bethesda released a preview trailer for Elder Scrolls Online that could reassure fans that the history of Tamriel will be well taken care of in the MMO. In the video, “Loremaster” Lawrence Schick describes just what the different factions in the game hope to gain from their all-out war.

The three factions, the Aldmeri Dominion, the Daggerfall Covenant, and the Ebonheart Pact, are all fighting over Cyrodiil, the setting of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Cyrodiil is led by a family who has made a pact with the evil daedric lord Molag Bal and his powerful necromancer servant. The Daggerfall Covenant, according to Schick, feels it is its place to bring peace to Cyrodiil and Tamriel. The Ebonheart Pact seem to simply want to make sure Molag Bal can’t cause any trouble on Tamriel. The Aldmeri Dominion has a personal grudge against the humans, and believes the elves should rightfully rule Cyrodiil.

The news comes just as Dust 514 has been merged onto the server that also hosts the Eve Online universe. CCP states that this accomplishment marks the first time two games from different genres have been linked together into a single MMO.

“The launch of the Dust 514 Open Beta is another step towards our long-term vision for CCP and Eve,” said Hilmar Pétursson, CEO of CCP. “But this is just the beginning. As we have done with Eve Online, in the coming weeks, and for years to come, we will continually improve upon and add to the Dust 514 experience, as well as add deeper integration between the two games and their communities.”

Dust 514 is a free-to-play first-person shooter MMO for the PlayStation 3. It is directly connected to Eve Online, and actions in each game will affect the economy, politics, and outcome of battles in the other. Players in Dust 514 can, in some ways, be seen as the shock troops for player corporations that command the fleets in Eve Online.

PlayStation 3 owners who don’t want to wait until the 22nd can buy closed beta access for $20 via the PlayStation Network Store. The purchase comes with several in-game items, 40,000 Aurum, and 100,000 bonus skill points if a match is played before the open beta begins.

Subscriptions for the modern day, Lovecraftian, conspiracy theory-laden MMO are now optional. Players can buy the game for $30 (or €30 or £25) and play all of the story content currently available. Four major updates for the title, which was released back in July, have already been released. Funcom is offering all of the upcoming content in the fifth update and an “Initiate Pack” (which includes weapons, a pet, and social clothing) for players who buy the game before December 31. Starting in January, updates (called “Issues” in Secret World parlance) will be sold for $5 each.

Like nearly all MMOs that have switched to free-to-play, The Secret World still has perks for players who continue to subscribe. Subscribers gain access to a monthly allotment of $10 worth of in-game cash, a monthly item-of-the-month, a 10% discount on all in-game store items, and a Time Accelerator – an item that doubles experience gain for 1 hour, with a 16 hour cool-down. In addition, those who have purchased the Grandmaster Pack get an extra 10% off in-game store items on top of the subscription discount.

For those who aren’t aware, Life Day is the Wookie holiday that is celebrated on the same day as Christmas. It was introduced in 1978′s The Star Wars Holiday Special, which is generally considered the most groan-worthy Star Wars content ever released. The Life Day items that will be sold in SWTOR include Life Day robes, a holiday speeder, a tinsel bomb, and Life Day trees.

Aside from the Life Day items, the new patch also contains a new multiplayer Warzone, and new space combat missions. Players have been waiting for the new Warzone, called Ancient Hypergate, and new space missions for months now. EA and Bioware released a trailer for the content to coincide with the patch’s launch.