The Elder Scrolls: Blades is set to come out for mobile soon - here's everything you need to know

The Elder Scrolls: Blades is an upcoming, exclusively mobile addition to the Elder Scrolls canon. We've known about it since E3 earlier in the year, but as we get closer to its release, we thought we should make sure you're as clued up as we are about what could easily be the game of the year.

When's it coming out? When's it set? What devices can you play it on? We've got all of those questions and more covered in this feature, so you can be certain that when The Elder Scrolls: Blades lands, you're going to be in the best position to slice and dice your way through it's awesome looking fantasy world.

When's it coming out?

According to the App Store. The Elder Scrolls: Blades is expected to land on September 1st. That's this coming Saturday. While App Store releases are subject to change, we'd be very surprised if the game didn't land this weekend. Very surprised indeed.

If you want to pre-order the game so it downloads to your device the second it's released, you can click right here to do just that at the App Store. If you'd rather play the game on Android, for whatever strange reason, click here and you'll be able to pre-register your interest at the Google Play Store.

What is it?

This is the blurb that you'll find at the game's App Store page -

"From Bethesda Game Studios, the award winning creators of Skyrim, comes The Elder Scrolls: Blades - a massive first person role-playing game created for mobile.

The Blades, the Empire’s top agents, are forced into exile. On the run, you return to your home town to find it destroyed.

QUEST to become your city’s champion through all-new single-player storylines.

CREATE and customize your city, restoring it to greatness.

CONQUER your friends and rivals in epic one-on-one Arena battles.

CREATE any character you want and discover unique weapons, armor and abilities.

EXPLORE the never-ending Abyss with a cutting-edge combat system."

So, let's break that down a little. It looks like the main focus of the game is going to be the singleplayer, with your deeds aiding the rebuilding efforts happening in your city. That restoration sounds like it's going to take the form of a building meta, so don't be surprised if you're spending a good chunk of your loot on bricks and mortar.

Then there's the multiplayer aspect. It's clear that you're going to be fighting against other players, and it's also clear that that online component is going to happen in a separate arena. So you won't be seeing other players running around in your single player adventure.

Character creation is something that the Elder Scrolls series is famed for, so it's no surprise to see it front and centre here. And it looks like, unsurprisingly, combat is going to be the main way that you interact with the world. Whether that'll be swipe-to-slash or something more complex, we still don't know.

Is it free to play?

Yes. The pre-order page on the App Store states that the game is going to be free. While there's no mention of IAPs on the page at the moment, we imagine that they're going to be present in the experience you'll be getting come Saturday.

What device do I need to play it?

While the Android specs are a little unclear at this point, the game's App Store page spells out pretty clearly what device you're going to need to play the game. For starters you're going to have to be running iOS 10.0 at least.

You're not going to need the beastliest new phones to play it though. Apparently it'll run on an iPhone 5S. Although we expect anything before the 7 to not be able to run the game as smoothly as you might like. In terms of tablets you're going to need an iPad Air or better, or anything after, and including, the iPad mini 2.

What rating has the game received?

On the App Store the game is rated for 12+, thanks to some mature themes, fantasy violence, and some more intense realistic violence too. On the Play Store it's been rated PEGI 16 in the UK.

What else should I know?

That's about everything we know for sure right now, but with the days ticking down until The Elder Scrolls: Blades comes out, there's sure to be more info heading our way in the not-too-distant future. Make sure you keep your eyes on 148Apps, where we'll be covering the game extensively in the weeks to come.