The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | |
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Developer(s) | Bethesda Game Studios |
Publisher(s) | Bethesda Softworks |
Distributor(s) | |
Director(s) | Todd Howard |
Designer(s) | Ken Rolston |
Composer(s) | Jeremy Soule |
Series | The Elder Scrolls |
Engine | Gamebryo |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox |
Release date(s) | Microsoft Windows Xbox |
Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Aggregate score | |
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Aggregator | Score |
Metacritic | (PC) 89/100 (Xbox) 87/100 |
Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
Edge | 6/10 |
Game Informer | 9.0/10 |
GamePro | 5/5 |
GameSpot | 8.7/10 |
GameSpy | 89/100 |
IGN | 9.4/10 |
PC Gamer (US) | 90/100 |
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is an open world fantasy action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the third installment in The Elder Scrolls series of games, following The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, and preceding The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It was released in North America in 2002 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. The main story takes place on Vvardenfell, an island in the Dunmer province of Morrowind, which lies in the empire of Tamriel and is far from the more civilized lands to the west and south that typified Daggerfall and Arena. The central quests concern the deity Dagoth Ur, housed within the volcanic Red Mountain, who seeks to gain power and break Morrowind free from Imperial reign.
Morrowind was designed with an open-ended free-form style of gameplay in mind, with less of an emphasis on the game's main plot than its predecessors. This choice received mixed reviews by some members of the gaming press, though such feelings were tempered by reviewers' appreciation of Morrowind's expansive and detailed game world. Despite that, Morrowind received both critical and commercial success, winning various awards, including game of the year, as well as selling over four million sales worldwide by 2005. The game spawned two expansion packs, known as Tribunal and Bloodmoon. Both were eventually repackaged into a full set and titled Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition, which released in October 2003.