Our friends at Bethesda recently informed us that they are taking applicants for the beta version of the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online.  Here are some official details:

Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Online Studios today announced that beta signups are now open for The Elder Scrolls Online at ElderScrollsOnline.com.  Interested gamers simply have to go to the website and register for a chance to play. Selected beta registrants will be granted early access to beta test the game. They will be among the first to experience this epic world with others in one of 2013’s most highly-anticipated releases. Timing and details of the start of playtests will be provided at a later date to those who register.

“We’re really excited to get the game into players’ hands,” said Matt Firor, game director of The Elder Scrolls Online. “We receive invaluable feedback through the beta process, and that helps us ensure that the game will be one of the best online gaming experiences ever offered — one worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.”

The Elder Scrolls Online brings the award-winning Elder Scrolls experience online for the first time. Using ZeniMax Online’s Megaserver technology, players will join one connected world with a built in social network that lets them stay up-to-date with everything their friends are doing. Megaserver technology avoids the hassle of shard selection and makes The Elder Scrolls Online one of the most socially enabled games ever created.  Whether playing alone, or with hundreds of friends, players can develop their own style of play as they embark upon an epic quest across Tamriel.

The Elder Scrolls Online is slated for release in 2013 andis being developed for the PC and the Mac by ZeniMax Online Studios. The studio is headed up by industry veteran Matt Firor who has more than 20 years of online game development experience. The Elder Scrolls Online has not yet been rated by the ESRB.