Some gameplay footage that appears to be captured from early beta testing (and almost certainly in violation of participation non-disclosure agreements), has found its way online.

The 20 minute clip shows a player navigating the game's character creation interface, and performing some MMO basics at the start of the game. It's a rather unflattering showcase of the game, and a good example of why games publishers try to protect against this sort of thing. It's not likely to be representative of how the launch game will look, but it does offer some insight into how some of the games mechanics will function, and a few points of difference from the average MMO.

Publisher Zenimax has been reasonably vigilant at takedowns on video sharing sites, so we won't embed anything here. But the Internet horde continues to reupload it, and AllGamesBeta has some stills.

The Elder Scrolls Online is due on PC in 2013.