Orcs will be named the Orsimer in Elder Scrolls Online and will be a playable race in the new game, Zenimax Online revealed.

"Orcs live in strongholds in the mountains throughout northern Tamriel," they said in a fan question and answer segment.

"Most of them keep to themselves, staying out of the wars of Men and Elves. The Orcs of Wrothgar, who are signatories to the Daggerfall Covenant, are the exception, having long had ambitions of nationhood."

The Daggerfall Covenant is one of the accords that divides the game's races into two broad alliances - through their role in the treaty, the Wrothgar Orcs hope eventually to build their own state, PCGamesSN.com reports.

Perhaps most excitingly for longtime series fans, The Elder Scrolls Online will see players witness the recapture of Orsinium, the Orcish capital city which featured in 1996's Daggerfall, PCGamesSN.com also reports.

The developer of Elder Scrolls Online, has not announced an official release date for the game, but one analyst suggests that changes in DPS class can create an imbalance within the game. 

"In the Elder Scrolls Online, this balance of power becomes an even greater challenge because builds have multiple trees to factor in. As I mentioned last week, each class has three possible combat trees, but armoring also has its trees, as does weaponry, and to a lesser extent, so does race. It's possible that there will be more, but those are the ones I'm sure of at this point," writes a Joystiq.com analyst. 

"Because a player will be able to mix and match all these skills and active abilities, it makes it possible to have a class like the Nightblade (rogue), which is traditionally a DPS-only class, tank or maybe even heal. Not only that, but according to the commentary from the lifestream in August, a player may be able to switch roles in the middle of a fight simply by switching weapons. That, even by the the strictest definition, is a hybrid."