Media: The Elder Scrolls Online team cut in half
Today, XBOX announced a round of layoffs that reached 3,200 ppl. Journalist Kotaku reporter Rebekah Valentine points to heavy cuts at ZeniMax Online Studios, the team behind the The Elder Scrolls MMO.
More than 20 ZeniMax Online staff posted about losing their jobs on LinkedIn, and others shared similar updates elsewhere. A number of those affected were long-tenured — many with 10+ yrs at the studio — and Kotaku’s sources suggest roughly half of the ESO devs may be gone. It’s a blunt change, and it hit people across roles and seniority levels.
On the ESO forum, community manager Jessica Folsom wrote that live support for the game will continue, but timelines will shift: the team needs time to assess scope and rework the update schedule, with the revised plan to be posted later. Small team, big questions — that’s the short version.
Former and current ZeniMax Online employees are uneasy about what comes next for online The Elder Scrolls; folks are asking how much the game can sustain and evolve w/ a much smaller crew. The situation feels unsettled rather than settled.