Watch: The Elder Scrolls Online Trailer Launches with Official Site

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Bethesda / YouTube

As expected, Bethesda just released a teaser trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online, dropping it dead center of the official website for the forthcoming online roleplaying game.

There’s not much to see yet, just a minute and ten seconds of brooding voiceover as someone holds forth about the state of the realm, e.g. the imperial throne “sits empty,” chaos rules, ancient enemies “band together,” salvation “cannot come from one hero alone” and so forth. Sure, we already know how things turn out, story-wise, since the game takes place a thousand years before Skyrim, but there’s that whole journey versus destination thing.

(PHOTOS: This Is What The Elder Scrolls Online Looks Like: 17 Leaked Screens)

Bethesda calls yesterday’s reveal by Game Informer of the game’s existence “long awaited” in the YouTube trailer’s description. I’m not sure all the series’ fans would agree: Reactions have been mixed, if we’re talking about what folks are saying on the official Bethesda message board for the game. “This is a horrible idea,” reads one thread’s title. Another calls it “the death of roleplaying.” And a third advises fans to simply ignore it entirely.

My advice: Don’t sweat it. Whether the MMO turns out to be awful, mediocre or brilliant, Bethesda’s made it clear the studio developing TESO — ZeniMax Online Studios — is independent from the folks making the solo games (like Skyrim), and that the latter should continue indefinitely.

MORE: Move Over Skyrim, Here Comes The Elder Scrolls Online