Floppy disk release
In the box
- Game on 3.5 inch floppy disks
- Manual
The Shift Gate copy protection asks questions from the manual. Patch 1.06 is the last one.
PC
The Elder Scrolls: Arena
The Elder Scrolls: Arena is a 1994 action role-playing game developed and published by Bethesda Softworks. The first game in the Elder Scrolls series, it was released for MS-DOS on March 25, 1994.
Role-playing (RPG)
- Space needed
- 25 MB
- Time to beat
- about 26.6 hours
- Plays offline
- Yes
Overview
The Elder Scrolls: Arena is a 1994 action role-playing game developed and published by Bethesda Softworks. The first game in the Elder Scrolls series, it was released for MS-DOS on March 25, 1994. The game follows the player trying to uncover a conspiracy against Emperor Uriel Septim VII.
Arena takes place on the entire continent of Tamriel, complete with wilderness, towns and dungeons which are procedurally generated. The game features a day/night cycle and includes a spell creation system that allows players to mix various spell effects. Development for Arena was initially planned to have the player travel in towns across Tamriel, fighting other teams in their arenas until the player became "grand champion". As development on the game progressed, side quests took more importance, and the tournament aspect of the game took a back seat. Role-playing elements were added to the game, and the game expanded to include towns outside the arenas and dungeons beyond the cities.
Arena spawned later sequels that together have gone on to become one of the best-selling Western RPG series of all time. The game received praise from critics and won several awards such as Computer Gaming World's 1994 "Role-Playing Game of the Year". It set a new standard for its type of CRPG and demonstrated just how much room was left for innovation. Although not as popular as the later Elder Scrolls games, Arena generated a cult following and sold 120,000 units. The game was followed by Daggerfall in 1996. In 2004, a downloadable version of the game was made available free of charge as part of the tenth anniversary of the series.
Official trailer
Gameplay video. Watch on YouTube
Gameplay
PC Longplay [302] The Elder Scrolls: Arena, World-of-Longplays. Watch on YouTube
Screenshots
Game details
- Genres
- Role-playing (RPG)
- Developer
- Bethesda Softworks
- Publisher
- Bethesda Softworks
- Series
- The Elder Scrolls
- Platforms
- Windows
- Age rating
- ESRB T
- Modes
- Single player
- Yes
- Local multiplayer
- No
- Online multiplayer
- No
- Co op
- No
- Age ratings
- PEGI
- 16
- ACB
- M
- ESRB
- T
- GRAC
- 12+
Release dates
| Platform | Region | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Worldwide | 2022-04-26 |
Editions
CD-ROM release
In the box
- Game CD-ROM
Adds voice acting in cutscenes, CGI videos and a remastered ending, with no Shift Gate questions.
Deluxe Edition
In the box
- Game CD-ROM patched to the latest version
- Mousepad with the map of Tamriel
- Codex Scientia hint book
Free download
In the game
- Floppy version of the game
Released free for the series' tenth anniversary. Free today on Steam, GOG and the Microsoft Store with DOSBox.
The Elder Scrolls Anthology
In the box
- Discs with Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim
Has the floppy version of Arena.
Space and patches
Space needed25 MB
DLC
Arena had no DLC.
Playable today
Playable offline todayYes
Single-player only, with no online features. Free, and runs on current PCs through DOSBox.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ever released on disc | Yes, floppy disks and CD-ROM, 1994 |
| Ever released in the store | Yes, free download from Bethesda, April 2004 |
| In the store to buy today | Yes, free on Steam, also on GOG and the Microsoft Store |
| Can be downloaded again if you already bought it | Yes |
| Disc runs with no patch | No It is a DOS game. It runs on current Windows through DOSBox. |
| Disc runs with the final patch | No Patch 1.06 is the last for the floppy version. It still needs DOSBox. |
| Has online features | No |
| Online servers running today | Does not exist |
| Playable offline today: campaign | Yes |
| Playable offline today: local multiplayer | Does not exist |
| Playable offline today: online multiplayer | Does not exist |
| Playable offline today: DLC | Does not exist |
Online
Plays offlineYes
Staff and cast
- Staff
Role Name Developer Bethesda Softworks Publisher Bethesda Softworks (North America), US Gold (UK) Director Vijay Lakshman Producer Vijay Lakshman Designers Vijay Lakshman, Ted Peterson Programmers Julian LeFay, Jennifer Pratt, Foroozan Soltani Artists Bryan Bossart, Kenneth Lee Mayfield, Jeff Perryman Composer Eric Heberling
Credits
- Publisher
- Bethesda Softworks
- Developer
- Bethesda Softworks
- Director
- Vijay Lakshman
- Released
- 1994-03-25
- Age rating
- ESRB T
- Region
- US
- Time to beat
- about 26.6 hours
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