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Is ZOS sundowning ESO?

JakelDK
JakelDK
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Recently I have been hearing ESO contentcreators talking about Zos "sundowning" ESO and moving on to different projects. I really hope thats not the case. Im all for them expanding their list of games, but i hope they keep ESO alive. Anyone out there with more insight/informed predictions who can put my gamer heart at ease XD ?
All the best.

Best Answers

  • fizzylu
    fizzylu
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    I've heard quite a bit that ZoS probably has ESO people working on their new MMO, but as far as I know it was never actually confirmed.... from what I saw, most people were just coming to that conclusion because of how High Isle and the past year in general seemed to go for ESO. Can't blame them for thinking/feeling that way either. I will say, if they are cutting from ESO for a new title.... that's some questionable handling of the game.
    Answer ✓
  • Danikat
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    ZOS have been hiring a lot of new people for a while now, and some of those jobs specifically say they're for unannounced projects so it sounds like they are working on something besides ESO.

    But that's normal for video game companies, even MMO developers rarely have just 1 game, and there's always been a lot of cross-over with Zenimax Online Studios, Bethesda, Zenimax Media (the parent company) and probably their other sister-companies so I don't see any reason to think putting a new game under ZOS instead of another subsidiary is a threat to ESO.

    Other than that I've not heard of anyone being concerned, beyond the fact that there's always people who think every MMO is about to shut down and any news (or any period longer than a few days without news) is proof of that.

    Even if it was being considered in private they've just announced their plans for the next year, so I think they'd at least wait and see how that goes before making any decisions.
    PC EU player | She/her/hers | PAWS (Positively Against Wrip-off Stuff) - Say No to Crown Crates!

    "Remember in this game we call life that no one said it's fair"
    Answer ✓
  • ZOS_Kevin
    ZOS_Kevin
    Community Manager
    JakelDK wrote: »
    Recently I have been hearing ESO contentcreators talking about Zos "sundowning" ESO and moving on to different projects. I really hope thats not the case. Im all for them expanding their list of games, but i hope they keep ESO alive. Anyone out there with more insight/informed predictions who can put my gamer heart at ease XD ?
    All the best.

    We've talked about this before, but we have no intention of "sundowning" ESO at this time. There are plenty of stories left to tell and the team is eager to work on those. We do have another project in the works, which is public information. But ESO has no plans to slow down.
    Community Manager for ZeniMax Online Studio and Elder Scrolls OnlineDev Tracker | Service Alerts | ESO Twitter
    Staff Post
    Answer ✓
  • Stinkyremy
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    I think they would be compelled to complete the tamriel map before the game updates just dwindle.
    I would also expect that would not be until at least TES6 drops as the zone would need to coincide with bethesdas work as to not conflict.

    Logically TES6 is not gonna release for at least another 4 years, most likely 5-6 years looking at bethesdas release gaps, also add to that MS screwing with everything, MS have a track record of ruining devs.

    ESO is one of the most popular MMOs, and MMOs are a niche, not many can compete.
    I expect ESO to survive until at least late 2020s, probably will be alive into the 2030s.

    Simple thing is, MS/ZOS are a company, and while there is money to be made there is no need for them to stop wanting to make money. If We keep buying ESO+, new expansions and crown crap, it keeps the business alive.

    If you want to see or know when a game will die, look at the player base. If the game starts to become a ghost town, then the game will die.
    Though of course as more expansions drop, areas will become less populated.
    Answer ✓
  • JamuThatsWho
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    ESO makes too much money for ZOS to even consider sundowning or shutting it down.

    It's a popular IP, it's an MMO, and it's available on multiple platforms. It'll be around for a looong time yet.
    Answer ✓
  • LukosCreyden
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    You would have to be a complete fool to scrap an MMO with the Elder Scrolls IP tied to it.
    The only logical reason to do this would be if they were working on another Elder Scrolls mmo, which I think they are not.

    They are certainly borrowing staff from the ESO team for the new game, but they won't kill ESO for it. ESPECIALLY if the new game is an original IP. That would be a quick way to lose a lot of money.
    Struggling to find a new class to call home.Please send help.
  • Thormar
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    There is a new project and they have been working on it for about 4.5 yrs.
    Below is the ZOS Creative Director of the project Ben Jones talking about it.
    Video was released about 3 months ago.

    https://youtu.be/6djsOpld1tcov

    What if I go north? Disappear.
    Would you come after me?
  • Danikat
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    You would have to be a complete fool to scrap an MMO with the Elder Scrolls IP tied to it.
    The only logical reason to do this would be if they were working on another Elder Scrolls mmo, which I think they are not.

    They are certainly borrowing staff from the ESO team for the new game, but they won't kill ESO for it. ESPECIALLY if the new game is an original IP. That would be a quick way to lose a lot of money.

    I've heard they considered it in late 2014, but even then I don't know how true it is.

    The rumour I've heard is that the game wasn't bringing in as much money as it needed to, due to the difficult launch and the mandatory subscription meaning even former players were wary of giving it a 2nd chance because they'd have to pay to find out if it was worth playing yet. Some of the senior executives at Zenimax Media wanted to scrap it, but ZOS persuaded them to give it more time. So they dropped the mandatory subscription and re-branded the game as Tamriel Unlimited to do a 're-launch' to help draw attention to all the changes and fixes that had come along since launch to get players to come back or try it for the first time. And it worked.

    That story certainly fits the facts, but I don't know if it's true that senior executives wanted to give up on the game and cut their losses or if they always knew it would take time for the game to establish itself.
    PC EU player | She/her/hers | PAWS (Positively Against Wrip-off Stuff) - Say No to Crown Crates!

    "Remember in this game we call life that no one said it's fair"
  • Rasoma
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    "Content" creators will say what they want to drive clicks and views - do not believe a lot of the hype that they say cause it simply ain't true.
    @Rasoma - member since January 8th 2014
  • Shagreth
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    It would be extremely foolish to start abandoning ESO in favor of another MMO game, especially for one with no established IP, but it does worry me. Ideally they should do things like Blizzard, love them or hate them -- they are dedicated to bringing a single MMORPG game, FPS etc. now if ZOS is making another MMORPG, well, it can't be good for ESO now, can it? I can't imagine any studio being able to co-develop two games of this genre, the cost is just insane. Without wanting to be unfair to the people still working on ESO, I feel as if the quality of the content is slowly deteriorating. Also, people have been asking for a class change token for years, yet we still won't get one in Necrom because it's apparently too difficult for them to overcome the technical difficulties for such a feature.

    Last but not least, the game is still heavily limited because of old-gen console support, they have to be extremely careful of what they add to the game. New skill lines, textures, animations etc. are all hard to add without fear of making the damn things implode. Again, ideally they should ditch old gen and focus on revamping parts of the game to make it more modern, but alas. This doesn't necessarily mean that the game is on maintenance mode, not at all, but we'll have a clearer picture with Necrom, they did say we should expect big things during its life cycle, so... one can hope.
  • Shagreth
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    ZOS_Kevin wrote: »
    JakelDK wrote: »
    Recently I have been hearing ESO contentcreators talking about Zos "sundowning" ESO and moving on to different projects. I really hope thats not the case. Im all for them expanding their list of games, but i hope they keep ESO alive. Anyone out there with more insight/informed predictions who can put my gamer heart at ease XD ?
    All the best.

    We've talked about this before, but we have no intention of "sundowning" ESO at this time. There are plenty of stories left to tell and the team is eager to work on those. We do have another project in the works, which is public information. But ESO has no plans to slow down.
    That is very reassuring, thank you.
  • JakelDK
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    Thanks all! You make alot of sense
    Edited by JakelDK on 2 February 2023 16:01
  • RaddlemanNumber7
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    Sundowning? No. Changing? Yes.

    The Q4 endless dungeon was described as a tentpole system. That implies it will be the game's main attraction going forward.
    PC EU
  • Shagreth
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    Sundowning? No. Changing? Yes.

    The Q4 endless dungeon was described as a tentpole system. That implies it will be the game's main attraction going forward.
    Which is honestly a good thing. I hope it's in the Apocrypha, but what I really really hope is that it has scaling tech so that people can solo it if they want to.
  • JakelDK
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    ZOS_Kevin wrote: »
    JakelDK wrote: »
    Recently I have been hearing ESO contentcreators talking about Zos "sundowning" ESO and moving on to different projects. I really hope thats not the case. Im all for them expanding their list of games, but i hope they keep ESO alive. Anyone out there with more insight/informed predictions who can put my gamer heart at ease XD ?
    All the best.

    We've talked about this before, but we have no intention of "sundowning" ESO at this time. There are plenty of stories left to tell and the team is eager to work on those. We do have another project in the works, which is public information. But ESO has no plans to slow down.

    Thats awsome! Thank you!
  • ADarklore
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    Shagreth wrote: »
    It would be extremely foolish to start abandoning ESO in favor of another MMO game, especially for one with no established IP, but it does worry me. Ideally they should do things like Blizzard, love them or hate them -- they are dedicated to bringing a single MMORPG game, FPS etc. now if ZOS is making another MMORPG, well, it can't be good for ESO now, can it? I can't imagine any studio being able to co-develop two games of this genre, the cost is just insane. Without wanting to be unfair to the people still working on ESO, I feel as if the quality of the content is slowly deteriorating. Also, people have been asking for a class change token for years, yet we still won't get one in Necrom because it's apparently too difficult for them to overcome the technical difficulties for such a feature.

    Last but not least, the game is still heavily limited because of old-gen console support, they have to be extremely careful of what they add to the game. New skill lines, textures, animations etc. are all hard to add without fear of making the damn things implode. Again, ideally they should ditch old gen and focus on revamping parts of the game to make it more modern, but alas. This doesn't necessarily mean that the game is on maintenance mode, not at all, but we'll have a clearer picture with Necrom, they did say we should expect big things during its life cycle, so... one can hope.

    First, they won't add class change tokens for many reasons, not including the cost of resources to develop it. They would simply LOSE a lot of money from the upgrades they have in the crown store.

    Second, yes, I agree... ZOS needs to ditch old gen consoles as soon as possible and start moving forward with next-gen only support. With consoles becoming more readily available, they need to start playing for this inevitability ASAP. They don't want to do what DCUO did with the PS3 and keep it going until the game started to lose massive numbers of players due to them not being able to add or upgrade anything in the game; they finally ditched the PS3, but by then many players had already moved on.
    CP: 1930 ** ESO+ Gold Road ** ~~ Stamina Arcanist ~~ Magicka Warden ~~ Magicka Templar ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
  • SkaraMinoc
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    As long as Bethesda keeps making single player Elder Scrolls games then ESO will never shut down.

    It's one of the strongest brands/IP in gaming and basically a money printer.
    PC NA
  • ADarklore
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    SkaraMinoc wrote: »
    As long as Bethesda keeps making single player Elder Scrolls games then ESO will never shut down.

    It's one of the strongest brands/IP in gaming and basically a money printer.

    The problem with that thought is, the huge number of solo players in the game would mean that once a new ES single player game comes out (ES6), many might move on to that game instead... leaving ESO with another drop in players, and perhaps not enough to keep the game going.
    CP: 1930 ** ESO+ Gold Road ** ~~ Stamina Arcanist ~~ Magicka Warden ~~ Magicka Templar ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
  • Elsonso
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    ADarklore wrote: »
    SkaraMinoc wrote: »
    As long as Bethesda keeps making single player Elder Scrolls games then ESO will never shut down.

    It's one of the strongest brands/IP in gaming and basically a money printer.

    The problem with that thought is, the huge number of solo players in the game would mean that once a new ES single player game comes out (ES6), many might move on to that game instead... leaving ESO with another drop in players, and perhaps not enough to keep the game going.

    The single player TES games, while more configurable and customizable, are terribly small and very lonely when compared to ESO. I have replayed the TES games over the last few years and the experience is very different than what we get here.

    PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
    XBox EU/NA: @ElsonsoJannus
    X/Twitter: ElsonsoJannus
  • XSTRONG
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    Didnt ZOS say recently that ESO have millions of players?
  • Tandor
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    ADarklore wrote: »
    SkaraMinoc wrote: »
    As long as Bethesda keeps making single player Elder Scrolls games then ESO will never shut down.

    It's one of the strongest brands/IP in gaming and basically a money printer.

    The problem with that thought is, the huge number of solo players in the game would mean that once a new ES single player game comes out (ES6), many might move on to that game instead... leaving ESO with another drop in players, and perhaps not enough to keep the game going.

    I don't doubt that (if and) when a new TES single player game comes out then a lot of ESO players will take a look at it, and probably focus on it for a while. I know I will, but I also know I will keep my ESO sub going while I do so and that I never just play one game to the exclusion of all others so I'll play ESO and e.g. TES6 then just as I am playing ESO and sundry other games now, as I have been doing since 2014 when ESO launched and became my main but not my only active game. I don't see that changing unless ZOS drop more bombshells like AwA and drive me away. I suspect my approach is quite a common one, not least among those playing ESO as principally solo players.
  • LadyLavina
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    ZOS_Kevin wrote: »
    JakelDK wrote: »
    Recently I have been hearing ESO contentcreators talking about Zos "sundowning" ESO and moving on to different projects. I really hope thats not the case. Im all for them expanding their list of games, but i hope they keep ESO alive. Anyone out there with more insight/informed predictions who can put my gamer heart at ease XD ?
    All the best.

    We've talked about this before, but we have no intention of "sundowning" ESO at this time. There are plenty of stories left to tell and the team is eager to work on those. We do have another project in the works, which is public information. But ESO has no plans to slow down.

    @ZOS_Kevin your willingness to engage with the community in the ways that you do should act as a model for how to be for administrators in games across the board. You are appreciated, good sir.
    PC - NA @LadyLavina 1800+ CP PvP Tank and PvP Healer
  • licenturion
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    ZOS_Kevin wrote: »
    JakelDK wrote: »
    Recently I have been hearing ESO contentcreators talking about Zos "sundowning" ESO and moving on to different projects. I really hope thats not the case. Im all for them expanding their list of games, but i hope they keep ESO alive. Anyone out there with more insight/informed predictions who can put my gamer heart at ease XD ?
    All the best.

    We've talked about this before, but we have no intention of "sundowning" ESO at this time. There are plenty of stories left to tell and the team is eager to work on those. We do have another project in the works, which is public information. But ESO has no plans to slow down.

    As a PVE customer, I am bummed that this year one of those stories left to tell (with a new DLC zone) has been scrapped in favor of 'general improvements'. Since the art guys don't have a new zone to create I hope their efforts will be on a remaster of the base zones (esp. rocks + vegetation).
  • SkaraMinoc
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    ADarklore wrote: »
    SkaraMinoc wrote: »
    As long as Bethesda keeps making single player Elder Scrolls games then ESO will never shut down.

    It's one of the strongest brands/IP in gaming and basically a money printer.

    The problem with that thought is, the huge number of solo players in the game would mean that once a new ES single player game comes out (ES6), many might move on to that game instead... leaving ESO with another drop in players, and perhaps not enough to keep the game going.

    Elder Scrolls 6 is basically marketing for ESO. Most players will get < 200 hours out of Elder Scrolls 6 and then go back to ESO where they have thousands of hours played.
    PC NA
  • SeaGtGruff
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    JakelDK wrote: »
    ESO contentcreators

    ^^^

    I found your problem. ESO content creators are not employees of ZOS. They don't attend planning meetings at ZOS the way actual employees of ZOS do.

    If you're listening to them, you're just getting their personal opinions and speculation, not insider info from or about ZOS.

    Honestly, I suspect some content creators are actually desparate for this game to fail. They sure act like it, anyway.
    I've fought mudcrabs more fearsome than me!
  • Elsonso
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    SeaGtGruff wrote: »
    JakelDK wrote: »
    ESO contentcreators

    ^^^

    I found your problem. ESO content creators are not employees of ZOS. They don't attend planning meetings at ZOS the way actual employees of ZOS do.

    If you're listening to them, you're just getting their personal opinions and speculation, not insider info from or about ZOS.

    Honestly, I suspect some content creators are actually desparate for this game to fail. They sure act like it, anyway.

    Nah. It is more likely that they don't want to see the game fail. There is a long history of streamers infusing opinions with Drama™ in an attempt to get both the attention of ZOS and the attention of viewers. :smile:
    PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
    XBox EU/NA: @ElsonsoJannus
    X/Twitter: ElsonsoJannus
  • Jolipinator
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    JakelDK wrote: »
    Recently I have been hearing ESO contentcreators talking

    I am so sorry you had to experience this.
    PS5 EU.
  • Fata1moose
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    Shagreth wrote: »
    ZOS_Kevin wrote: »
    JakelDK wrote: »
    Recently I have been hearing ESO contentcreators talking about Zos "sundowning" ESO and moving on to different projects. I really hope thats not the case. Im all for them expanding their list of games, but i hope they keep ESO alive. Anyone out there with more insight/informed predictions who can put my gamer heart at ease XD ?
    All the best.

    We've talked about this before, but we have no intention of "sundowning" ESO at this time. There are plenty of stories left to tell and the team is eager to work on those. We do have another project in the works, which is public information. But ESO has no plans to slow down.
    That is very reassuring, thank you.

    Is it? The game is losing two dungeons and a zone this year. Not only is there less content, they’re re-using assets from the oldest chapter. They’re never going to say they’re sunsetting the game because that’s bad for business to admit you’re winding down development.
    XSTRONG wrote: »
    Didnt ZOS say recently that ESO have millions of players?
    They only ever talk about total players not active.
    Edited by Fata1moose on 2 February 2023 19:38
  • SeaGtGruff
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    Elsonso wrote: »
    SeaGtGruff wrote: »
    JakelDK wrote: »
    ESO contentcreators

    ^^^

    I found your problem. ESO content creators are not employees of ZOS. They don't attend planning meetings at ZOS the way actual employees of ZOS do.

    If you're listening to them, you're just getting their personal opinions and speculation, not insider info from or about ZOS.

    Honestly, I suspect some content creators are actually desparate for this game to fail. They sure act like it, anyway.

    Nah. It is more likely that they don't want to see the game fail. There is a long history of streamers infusing opinions with Drama™ in an attempt to get both the attention of ZOS and the attention of viewers. :smile:

    Who are "they," though? I did say "some," not "all," and said that they "act like" they want it to fail.

    And if they were to succeed in driving enough people away from the game, as some of them act like they want to do, and the game were to experience a massive exodus of players and fail as a result, they'd probably post many lengthy lamentations about how great the game was and how sad they are that it failed, while simultaneously bragging about how they were the first to successfully predict its failure.

    But hey, that's just the impression I get from some of them. I might be wrong.

    On the other hand, if they aren't doing it deliberately then they might want to take a step back and take a long hard look at how their pursuit of being "an influencer" could be influencing their viewers toward adopting negative attitudes and may be hurting the very things they claim to love.
    I've fought mudcrabs more fearsome than me!
  • karthrag_inak
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    Khajiit always laughs when he sees the term "ESO Content Creators". As if they do anything actually creative, instead of just waxing idiotic on yub tub.

    Where is this content? Can khajiit play within it, or wear it perhaps?
    PC-NA : 19 Khajiit and 1 Fishy-cat with fluffy delusions
  • Shagreth
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    SeaGtGruff wrote: »
    JakelDK wrote: »
    ESO contentcreators

    ^^^

    I found your problem. ESO content creators are not employees of ZOS. They don't attend planning meetings at ZOS the way actual employees of ZOS do.

    If you're listening to them, you're just getting their personal opinions and speculation, not insider info from or about ZOS.

    Honestly, I suspect some content creators are actually desparate for this game to fail. They sure act like it, anyway.
    No joke. I mean, I remember a few ones from WoW too. Some may be genuine, and it has to do with our own mortality -- so we tend to fear/obsess about losing the things we care for and that's normal, but some people take it too far. This is mostly prevalent in MMORPG games, games where it's not just about investing time and/or money, lot's of feelings involved in games like ESO, attachment to our characters, friends etc. etc. So the possibility of the death of a game such as this can be a tragic loss, hence the fear.

    @Fata1moose edit: And it's perfectly normal to cut an expansion down early, let's face it, High Isle wasn't that great. Blizzard has done that with with a few expansions too, biggest cut was Warlords of Draenor and yet the company and the game are still around and kicking, plus they just released one of the best expansions to date.

    p.s. if you've seen my posts you'll realize that I'm far from a Zenimax apologist, but I have to be objective and fair, it's been a tough couple (actually more) years for Zenimax and the industry in general. I try to remain hopeful despite it all.
    Edited by Shagreth on 2 February 2023 20:21
  • boi_anachronism_
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    Wouldn't worry about it too much. From my understanding eso is still a big money maker for zos from my understanding.
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