The fourth game in the series, Oblivion, contains an homage to this idea, as the posters seen in the Imperial City arena closely resemble the box art of the deluxe edition of Arena. A trace of the game that might have been still exists in the final version, as a text file containing names of each cities' fighting teams, along with a brief description of each. It was explained, in-game, by the idea that since the world of Tamriel was defined by brutal wars and conflict, both mortal and immortal, it was often called 'The Arena' by its inhabitants. Since packaging and other marketing materials had already been printed with the original name, it was retained. As more and more RPG elements crept into the game, it was decided to abandon the arena-fighting idea completely. The game would have the player's team of fighters competing against those of other cities, culminating in him becoming grand champion in the Imperial City. The name 'Arena' comes from the original conception of the game, when it was to be a gladiatorial action game. The game was developed and published by Bethesda Softworks for the PC and released in 1994. Like the other games in the series, Arena is an open-ended first person RPG. The Elder Scrolls: Arena is the first game in the long running and award-winning Elder Scrolls series. Overview A map of Tamriel and its provinces.
