As we have recently found out, Bethesda has announced an Elder Scrolls MMO. This will probably be a very successful game that will earn Bethesda critical acclaim, many subscribers and tons of money. Hence, I am happy for Bethesda and wish them luck with the game. Personally, though, I have no interest in playing online games. There is a trend these days towards turning various series into online games, which would be fine by me, as many enjoy these products, were it not for the issue that oftentimes the MMO kills the single player part of the series. It happened with Warcraft, as well as with Star Wars: The Kingths of the Old Republic, both of which I really liked in their single player versions. I guess this happens because MMOs require substantial resources to develop and maintain and also the companies don't want their own games to compete with one another, as there is a population of players for whom online and single-player game preferences overlap.

Anyway, in the light of the above, I am wondering whether the Elder Scrolls MMO will mean the end of the single-player part of the series. I hope not, but I cannot help but wonder.

Depends on how successful is TESO.

Yes.

No it won't, Bethesda has no part in this, it is being made by zenimax. And Pete has already confirmed the two will remain seperate entities.

Yup. All of this is true.