14 DAY TRIAL // Update: Bethesda confirmed that there will be no CD key activation for accounts on Xbox One and PS4, and that The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited discs will be the only things necessary to enjoy the game, just like with any other console release.
Original story: Apparently, you won't be able to trade your console copies of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited.
If you want to enjoy ZeniMax Online Studios' massively multiplayer online role-playing video game on the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 home consoles, you'll need to buy the game, as it requires a CD key, just like the PC version does.
The information comes from the game's forums, where a number of users created a topic discussing the aspect of sharing or borrowing their game to others, and whether or not the game's license could be shared on the same console.
A representative from ZeniMax Online Studio clarified then that players of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited would require a CD key in order to access the game, an issue that makes used copies redundant.
"To clarify, you will need a unique game registration code in order to play the game, and used copies will not be eligible to receive a key if the code has already been redeemed," ZOS_GaryA posted on the forums.
He explained that the console edition of TESO would work just like the PC one does, in the sense that it would have a code included in the box, necessary to activate your account. The discs are included in order to help with the installation process.
Second-hand MMO disks make no sense anyway
This means that, if you own the game discs, you'll be able to install the game and make it all the way to the login screen, but you won't be able to access the game without having an active The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited account.
In other words, if you own a console and a copy of the game, and there are several gamers in your household who would like to play the game, each one will have to purchase a separate copy of the game, since the legal terms that you have to accept when creating an account specify that they are non-transferable under all circumstances, and MMO makers usually frown upon account sharing.
This means that you won't be able to sell your account together with the game discs. Things are already a bit murky here, since selling single-player games makes much more sense than selling multiplayer ones.
The representative did not provide any information regarding the possibility for users with used discs of purchasing an account, although it would be a bit pointless, since physical copies of online games only serve as a faster way to install them, instead of having to download all the data from the servers, and it's the actual access to the game that you're buying.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited is coming out on June 9 on the PlayStation 4 home console from Sony and the Xbox One computer entertainment system from Microsoft.
The game will also be dropping its subscription fee, becoming buy to play, just like Guild Wars 2.