The Elder Scrolls Online Reportedly Loses Up to Half Its Development Team as Roadmap Undergoes Reevaluation

According to a report from Kotaku, 'as much as half' of the development team behind The Elder Scrolls Online has been laid off, raising serious questions about the game's future. This comes as part of Microsoft's broader restructuring of Xbox, which saw thousands of employees let go today. While no studios are closing, many are being divested from Xbox or given the opportunity to go independent. Bethesda is also expected to focus on key franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls moving forward.

ZeniMax Online Studios appears to be one of the hardest hit, though the exact number of affected staff remains unknown. This isn't the first time the studio has faced cuts; last year, Xbox laid off a significant portion of ZOS and canceled a sci-fi MMO in development there.

Kotaku sources within ZeniMax expressed uncertainty about how The Elder Scrolls Online can continue after such a massive blow. The team seems to be grappling with this publicly, as community manager Jessica Folsom took to the ESO forums to inform players that the game's roadmap is 'shifting' and that they need time to reevaluate before sharing a new plan.

'Looking beyond Season One, the roadmaps we previously shared will be shifting,' Folsom wrote. 'We want to take the time to evaluate the work in front of us and then lock down an updated schedule. While we'd love to share concrete details today, stepping back to get our plans straight will let us come back to you with a clear timeline.'

With such a drastic reduction in the development team, many players fear the worst for ESO's future. The game will likely remain playable, but the level of future support is uncertain. ESO recently moved away from large expansions in favor of seasonal content, which already hinted at a scaling down. Now, some players find it hard to envision a future for the game.

'Difficult to read this as anything other than an intention to wind down the game,' one fan commented. Another agreed, noting that this move could drive players away and lead to the game's demise: 'MMORPGs can't continue if the players think the game will not grow in the future. No one wants to invest the time MMORPGs demand to a game that may not exist in 5 years. It will be like a death spiral.'

'I'm going to be honest, it's a near guarantee that ESO goes into maintenance mode within the next year or at least a low power mode where hardly any new content is released,' predicted another player. 'They already reduced the amount of dungeons, expansion content, and zones being released a little while ago, so expect even less now. Destiny 2 getting shit canned last month was needed because it got so bad so I didn't mind that much, but ESO still has so much to give.'

Some fans looked to other games for comparison. 'This is truly worrying news,' said a fan. 'Warhammer Online faced a similar fate. It started with half the team and the face of the team being laid off.'

Others drew parallels to the situation with Destiny 2. Earlier this summer, Bungie wound down support for Destiny 2 before laying off hundreds of developers. The game remains functional but will no longer receive updates. One fan lamented, 'Noooo I just came to this game from Destiny. F--k me, man.'