Ngl it cant really get much worse then it is. Population already shrinking due the lack of content, new ideas, cross play and game being (it feels) on maintenance mode.

We will see population shrinking over 2 years and then shutdown

Desiato wrote: »

Imperial_Archmage wrote: »

I feel for the folks impacted by these layoffs, I really do, but at the same time I can’t help but ask myself what is that they were doing before they were fired? The so called “Season of the Worm” has been nothing but rehashed old content that adds nothing new to the game.

They made the decision not to develop a conventional chapter last year. The staff who would normally work on new assets for chapters were probably either assigned to other Bethesda projects or Blackbird.

I see that as the real sad part of this plan. I am sure that devs moved from ESO to "Blackbird" simply because the new game needed more skilled developers than ESO. ESO needs skilled developers, but it is an established game, so not as many. They were not forever lost to ESO, since they were just across the room (so to speak), but they were working on the other game. I would not be surprised to learn that this had been going on for years. Then, Microsoft comes along and trims out all of those skilled developers and lays them off.

Now they are forever lost.

Vengeance isn't "nonsense," it's an attempt to test out different ideas for improving performance in Cyrodiil. If you don't want ZOS to look for ways to improve the game, that's fine. But don't complain about the state of Cyrodiil performance and then complain when ZOS tries to work on ideas for improving performance, because you can't have it both ways.

My heart goes out to the awesome devs that work on this game day in and day out.

Unfortunately this really confirms what a lot of players have been feeling/noticing for some time. I feel for me personally that the game hasn’t been going where I personally wish it would direction-wise and with some being positive about the introduction of seasons, I think it all just holds a new meaning now.

Not looking good but I wish the best for everyone involved!

ArchMikem wrote: »

It's an incredible pity that Zenimax didn't/couldnt go private, instead of being acquired by Microsoft.

They were private. They were never a publicly traded company. Bethesda became Zenimax Media after an influx of funds from investors, a process that would be ongoing. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars. That's how they were able to make such great games in the first place, including ESO, and buy other studios. Those investors ultimately wanted a return. They got that when Microsoft bought Zenimax.

This is normal stuff in the game biz and the entertainment industry. I don't want to sound insensitive because of course I feel awful for anyone who loses their job. But what Microsoft is doing isn't inherently evil. Like Zenimax Media, they answer to their stakeholders. This is all par for the course in the entertainment industry.

We're never going to hear a balanced view of it from the press because Microsoft won't share their justifications beyond what they've already shared. Microsoft paid a lot for Zenimax and what they do with it is entirely their prerogative. Obviously they believe this is the best course of action for their business.

Very likely the decision to to downsize ESO's development team was made last year when it was determined the chapter model would end. ZOS was probably pushing Blackbird hard so they could transition staff to avoid layoffs. It's pretty clear to be ESO entered a new phase of its existence this year, regardless of the outcome of that.

This isn't just a Microsoft thing. The gaming business has been in an upheaval for a while now. Long term economic forecasts are grim. We're at a turning point in history right now. Big media companies are trying to get ahead of what's coming. And frankly, we all should. It's time to control what one can.

Desiato wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

If they thought Blackbird would be successful, of course they would not have shot themselves in the foot by cancelling it.

They would if they want to pivot away from new IP because they think that it's not the future of gaming. They cut down on the amount of new IP they were willing to do as a general business strategy. They actually thought Blackbird was very promising until they decided to move away from new IP and directly communicated as such. This is one of the reasons it was so shocking that the project was suddenly scrapped. This was not a project that was flailing.

Yes, not being the future of gaming means they did not think it would be successful! You seem to think this was a title close to release. It was not.

They explicitly stated it was not performance driven. If the future of gaming is AI, and you're focused on new IP, then even if the game would be profitable, it would be less profitable than if you had set yourself up to also do AI for existing games. Let's say 1 billion from Blackbird but 3 billion from AI as made up profit numbers to illustrate the point. Blackbird pulling in a billion would still be successful but still not a good choice from a profit perspective because it could have been 3.

There was absolutely zero indication that Blackbird would not be successful. Sometimes it's not about the performance of a specific product. Sometimes it's about what you think will be a better thing for your company to focus on in the future. And that has been explicitly stated in this case.

Yes, there was an indication they did not think it would be successful! They cancelled it!

Again, cancelation does not automatically mean not profitable. There is more than one reasons companies cancel projects. IDK how to make that more clear.

Source = gaming bolt

"But Blackbird’s cancellation was particularly shocking because it had blown away executives at Xbox just a few months ago.” said Schrier’s source. “During the demonstration in March, Spencer was enjoying the game so much that Matt Booty, the head of Xbox Game Studios, had to pull the controller away so they could keep the meeting going, according to two people who were in the room.".....The cancellation of the project also came as the studio was expanding its workforce in order to work on Blackbird."

It had blown the executives away and they had even been given the clear to expand their workforce. Microsoft explicitly stated these layoffs were not about performance.

That's the last I'll say on this as the discussion has become quite circular. But MS explicitly stated these layoffs are about pivoting and streamlining their business in preparation for the future. It was not about the performance of the individuals or projects being laid off. And in fact, the individuals being laid off had contributed to the gaming segment of Microsoft being some of the most profitable that it had ever been.

The employees were doing good work. This is why it came as such a shock to them. They had been hearing nothing but positive feedback and had great success. And then one day they're just locked out of their computers and they don't even know why. I can imagine how awful that felt. My heart goes out to them.

ETA
How this relates to ESO is some of the people laid off had been critical to its success and we just a lot of institutional knowledge.

https://massivelyop.com/2025/07/23/zenimax-online-devs-say-microsoft-layoffs-eliminated-critical-mmorpg-staff-and-institutional-knowledge/