Have sword, will travel: How to sign-up to beta test Elder Scrolls Online

Elder Scrolls Online, the new online game from Bethesda, is slated to launch in beta form in the near future. 

The Elder Scrolls Online, a massively multiplayer role-playing game that takes place in the same universe as the critically-acclaimed Skyrim, is scheduled for launch sometime in 2013.

But especially eager Elder Scrolls aficionados can sign up this week for a beta test of the game – provided, of course, you're willing to answer a short survey about your "play style," computer set-up, and "preferred online gaming activities." 

"If selected, you will be one of the first people to embark upon the newest Elder Scrolls adventure, and help us beta test The Elder Scrolls Online," Bethesda staffers wrote on the company blog. "Please be aware that this is just beta sign-ups. The first beta test will begin soon – watch our official website, Facebook, and Twitter for an announcement about the first round of invites." 

Last year Game Informer reported that Elder Scrolls Online will allow gamers to travel across the whole of the fictional realm of Tamriel, from the Shivering Isles to Skyrim. According to Game Informer, Elder Scrolls Online is "set a millennium before the events of Skyrim as the daedric prince Molag Bal tries to pull all of Tamriel into his demonic realm."

Players can choose to wander the globe alone, or join one of three warring factions: The Daggerfall Covenant, the Ebonheart Pact, and the Aldmeri Dominion. A new Elder Scrolls Online trailer launched this week – embedded above – depicts avatars from each of the three factions doing battle in and around a giant, crumbling castle.

“This is a big moment for us,” Matt Firor, director for The Elder Scrolls Online, told NBC.  “The beta announcement means that we’re confident tha external people can get into the game and start playing it and have fun, and also give us feedback about how the game is, how sticky it is, how much fun it is, how reliable it is. We’re super, super excited really about getting people in it and seeing it." 

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