Studio Director’s Letter: 2025 & Beyond

ZOS_MattFiror

Welcome to everyone in the Elder Scrolls Online community! As the year is drawing to a close, I’m going to take some time to walk you through my thoughts on 2024 – and look ahead to 2025 and how ESO will be evolving to meet the changing needs of the community. 

First, a few notes about 2024. I probably say this every year, but 2024’s ESO content was among my favorite. I loved the vibe and story of Gold Road, and now that Home Tours is allowing me to see so many other people’s homes, I’m seriously considering making Merryvine Estate my main house – although it will take a lot to unseat me from Mournoth Keep… 2024 showed that we are still creating wonderful content for all our players. We ended the year with two new Companions – I am currently adventuring with Zerith-var, although I’m early in my journey with him – as well some fun tweaks to Battlegrounds, and much more. I look back on 2024’s content and updates, and am very satisfied with our story, content, and systems updates.

It was wonderful to spend time with fans in person in April at our Amsterdam 10 Year Anniversary event, and for team members – sadly I could not make it – to attend the German ESO Tavern in July. We had many other smaller regional community events – some for the first time in their territories – sprinkled throughout the year, where fans of the game got to meet one another and share stories about their shared time in Tamriel.

And now it is time to look forward, which will comprise most of this end of year message. Change is a constant, especially in gaming. The gaming industry changes, player habits change, other games come and go. In fact, change has been constant since ESO launched in 2014. We have been able to keep up with the times, make hard decisions and big changes when it was time to make them. Looking back on all the changes that have gotten us here, it is pretty clear that we have generally made the right decisions at the right times for our game. And now, we are looking forward to 2025 and how we can change ESO to keep it relevant, awesome, and compelling. 

Since 2017, we have released amazing content and systems every year - but always on the same schedule. This annual cadence pushed the team to focus on short deadlines – every June – where all types of content (systems, content, zones, etc.) had to be completed at the same time and has not left us much time for experimentation or thinking about doing things differently.
At the end of last year, we gave a slight heads up that we would be shaking things up. Our lead times are so long that we were already planning for some of these changes back then. And, I’m very happy to say that starting in 2025, you'll see new ideas and ways of launching content start rolling out. 

Turning the Page on Chapters 
We have been incredibly successful with our strong annual Chapter releases: starting with Morrowind in 2017 up through Gold Road just six months ago. Zone design and quest/content is at the core of every Elder Scrolls game, as our annual Chapter release model highlighted. We will still do lots of story content, but now, looking into 2025, we need to concentrate on different types of content to support all types of ESO players. So, we are putting Chapters aside and will be focusing on new types of content, and a new release philosophy. More on that below.

As 2025 will be a transition year for new content, we are going to have new zone-based content launch in 2025 - but you'll have to wait until April to hear the specifics about how it is different. Stay tuned!

Introducing Seasons  
Over the course of 2025 we will be moving more towards a seasonal content model and away from launching massive content updates once a year, as we did with Chapters. We will be talking much more about this in the future, but in 2025 expect to see named Seasons of three or six months duration with a mix of themed story content, events, store items, dungeons and more.  
2025 will be a mix of old and new as we move the dev team towards creating smaller bite-sized pieces of content. We will still have some larger items that we've been working on for over a year, which you'll see launch as well. 

Freeing up the dev team from needing to adhere to a strict annual cycle means we will be able to have teams launch content when it is ready throughout the year and not work to a date in June – this will let us focus on a greater variety of content spread over the year. This supports the new Seasons model, and will enable us to release content, updates, fixes, and systems in a more efficient manner.

A new focus on change and experimentation  
We have been hearing from you, the community, that we need to experiment more, to shake things up and not be so predictable. The game needs new and different types of content, and for long-standing feedback to be addressed. We have already started on some ideas that will be tested in 2025. These systems and ideas will be clearly marked as "experiments" in patch notes and are ideas that may or may not be fleshed out into full game systems. With our new focus on breaking up content into seasons and away from years, it gives us time to do these experiments and changes.

Here are some of the ideas that we are working on, some of which you may see on the live servers as tests in 2025 and beyond. Some of these will be tests and some will be improvements based on player feedback: 

• We need to seriously address Cyrodiil performance. Our (ambitious) goal is to return it to the concurrency levels we supported in 2014. So, we will be experimenting with a Cyrodiil campaign where all classes will have PvP-specific (and more performant) skills that replace the standard player skills with the expectation that we can support more players per campaign.

•  Increasing the difficulty of standard overworld combat

• Improving the overall feel of combat with animation, FX, and potentially audio work

• Experimenting with more zones like Craglorn (although not as large in area or scope), created exclusively for high-end group and soft-group content with associated gear chase 

• Adding and refining tools to make guild recruitment, interaction, and management easier and more logical 

• We have many more ideas here, and of course we are listening to you and will be coming up with new ideas based on your feedback 

Concentrating on new and returning user experience 
It is long past time that we address ESO's new and returning user experience. The game is so large at this point that we need to refine the new user experience. Our goal is to shield new players from being overwhelmed by dozens of content options presented to them on entering the world, and instead give them the essential guidance they need to enjoy the game before opening it up to all possibilities.

Additionally, we have many millions of players who return to the game every year after taking months to years off – and it is often confusing to them what they should be doing. We need to address this by making sure that the game’s map and other quest/informational UI areas clearly show the user where they were when they left, what has been added since then, and where they will find content they will love. 

Here are just a few of the items planned to improve the new and returning user experience – some of these will launch in 2025, some afterwards:  

• A new patcher, with improved visuals and performance (PC only) 

• Returning to the original Wailing Prison tutorial area for all new players - this has already launched, but we will be regularly tweaking it to improve the experience 

• Visually improving base game zones with updated textures and art assets, starting with the "starter islands" - these should start rolling out in March 2025 

• Not showing new players prologue quest or Chapter quest compass pins. The jury is still out on how Stuga will feel about this

• Sprucing up the game's PC UI, which is long overdue for a modern visual upgrade

• Other map and UI systems (still in design/idea stage) to make returning to the game more seamless and get you back into the action quickly 

Continuing to tell great stories
With the changes to our content release model, please be assured that we are not abandoning new quest content – but we will do it in different ways than we previously have. As our focus will not be on adding giant new landmasses – although we will do that from time to time – instead, we will use existing zones and areas to tell new stories. Some of these are:

• Continuing the stories in existing zones and storylines and bringing back familiar characters 
• New stories focused on hallmark Elder Scrolls organizations like Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild, Fighters Guild, and Mages Guild
• Splitting a large zone across multiple updates

We are embarking on these changes to give the development team the space to find a new cadence that can mix new content and systems with addressing feedback, fixing issues, and adding new quests and activities to existing zones and stories. It will not be as regular as the old annual cadence - so expect Season launches and new content, systems, and tests announcements throughout the year, not necessarily in January as we have done since 2017. 

Speaking of, to give everyone a heads up, our next big announcement event will be in April 2025 as we introduce our first Season. There will be much more in the April announcement, but for that, you will have to wait. We will still have a content update in March 2025 (on PTS as normal in January), and we will give you more information about that sometime early in the new year.

You have already heard the news that we will not be doing a 2025 North American community event as we originally planned. This was a difficult decision, but as shown by all the planning and development changes listed here, we need to focus on the game itself for a while this year. That said, we will still see you at local community events in many territories, so stay tuned for announcements and details on those. 

And finally, my thanks to all of you. Thank you so much for being part of the wonderful community that makes up this amazing online virtual world. As I have said many times before, we would not be here without you. You all have navigated many changes throughout the years and have given us invaluable feedback that has helped steer our decision making since our beta program started in 2013. 

Have a wonderful holiday and see you in Tamriel!

Matt 

LunaFlora

waow!

those are some big changes!
i look forward to it, epecially the story content.

New Guild stories seem awesome and Seasons sound like a good change of pace.
(edited to add:
"Continuing the stories in existing zones and storylines and bringing back familiar characters
New stories focused on hallmark Elder Scrolls organizations like Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild, Fighters Guild, and Mages Guild
Splitting a large zone across multiple updates"
this is all really wonderful.)


I know it'll be a test, but i hope that "Increasing the difficulty of standard overworld combat" will have options instead of being an increase for everyone.

"Visually improving base game zones with updated textures and art assets, starting with the "starter islands" - these should start rolling out in March 2025 "
This specifically sounds very awesome too.

And i am happy to hear this "Freeing up the dev team from needing to adhere to a strict annual cycle means we will be able to have teams launch content when it is ready throughout the year and not work to a date in June – this will let us focus on a greater variety of content spread over the year. This supports the new Seasons model, and will enable us to release content, updates, fixes, and systems in a more efficient manner."

NettleCarrier

Exactly the kind of changes I was hoping for - particularly revisiting old zones. There's so much content in the game but doing "old" content isn't as rewarding as new content (lack of titles, achievements, various unlocks, etc.) so I pretty much put off the majority of base game over the years. It will be exciting to finally do them with a fresh coat of paint!

RomanRex

Looking ahead to 2025, ESO is transitioning to a seasonal content model, moving away from annual Chapter releases to allow for more experimentation, smaller updates, and greater responsiveness to player feedback.

This is something that many of us have expected for a couple years and are now seeing play out.

I appreciate the honesty and allowing us to make other plans on how we will spend our time gaming in 2025 knowing ESO will be limited.

Luke_Flamesword

Well, I have mixed feeling on this. It sounds good on paper, but last year we had change to cut quarter updated for bigger chapters and you delivered half-sized chapter and Q3 and Q4 with home tours (seriously...) and refreshed BG as new feature...

For me all this sound like excuse to deliver even less content, but we will see... I hope that means that eso+ subscribers will have access to all new content without paying anything additional like chapters from previous years?

CoolBlast3

This is insanely good news for ESO, i'm super happy for this!!
Thank you ZOS for listening to our wants- especially overland difficulty

LamiaCritter

This is incredibly promising, but there's an aspect that greatly concerns me;

The 'seasonal' model. Please, please, for the love of all that is sane, no /not/ turn this into a poisonous battlepass situation.
Please, do not turn this into a FOMO nightmare where stuff is on pointless, needless timers that can pressure us into log in for the sake of 'metrics'.

I have physical disabilities. I despise the idea of being locked out of items just because my physical issues might force me to be away from my computer for weeks or months at a time.

React

Are these "pvp specific" skills going to be animation changes only? Are there plans to change the functionality of cross healing/shielding?

Aliyavana

“Visually improving base game zones with updated textures and art assets, starting with the "starter islands" - these should start rolling out in March 2025”

I hope this means that we will get the newer khajiit furstocks in old elsweyr zones like Khenarthi’s roost, as it doesnt make sense lorewise they’d be missing.

I also hope they go and add direnni ruins in old high rock zones as they had a hegemony there and should have more ruins than the ayleids that came after.

This is good news to me. Base game needed a much needed visual update.

Pepegrillos

Sounds like a watered-down version of what New World is doing, which is already a struggling game content-wise.

Erissime

Perhaps the most hopeful letter I ever read! May it stay true to its course! Happy Holidays and cheers to a greater Tamriel!

Maitsukas

Some players will be happy, while others will be unhappy with these changes. There is no way to please everyone.

We need to first see what the changes look like in-game before jumping to conclusions.

spartaxoxo

I am beyond excited for some of these changes.

But one stands out to me as a little infuriating if I'm being honest.

Why is PC's UI fixing being prioritized over console? Console does not benefit from add-ons. There are a large amount of fixes that people enjoy that massively improves the game that console never gets to benefit from. In addition, there are things that are improvements to the user experience that only pc gets for no discernible reason.

Things like add-ons that help with the absolutely massive issue of not being able to see what is known or not at a guild trader, not having to spend large amounts of time every single time looking for treasure maps, being able to input coordinates, being able to auto-run for accessibility, etc.

I am not saying that PC doesn't need anything either. But this game was designed for PC first and all UI has gone through them first. Console has been waiting 9 years to have improvements. And now you've skipped over us to go back to the drawing board for pc since it's been a while. PC's look is outdated? Console's functionality is awful.

The constant disregard console is shown is incredibly disheartening. Most console users don't even bother to post here anymore.

SkaiFaith

This is HUGE! So hyped!
Overland difficulty + Visual upgrade of base zones!!!
More Craglorn-like content!
THANK YOU for listening! THIS IS AWESOME! (more snow is always appreciated when new areas will come)

If I'm permitted to give a suggestion about the seasonal content - please don't make it time limited and never again returning... There are games that have seasons but "in a permanent way". FOMO would feel bad. We've already seen how happy players have been with the permanent return of Indriks and other events' collectibles, when on the other hand many express discontent with crates returning too rarely. So, please take this aspect into consideration...

kensan62_ESO

maybe im reading this different than everyone else but what im getting out of it is Less new areas, harder difficulty to play the game, and seasonal content that will be around older areas that are gimmicky. also sounds to me like the store will be a big part of getting any new content at all. so for 14.99 a month i will now be getting less content that is harder to play. I really hope this is not the case. I dont know what player base has changed. ive been playing this game for a long time and the problems not being fixed still arent and now we are changing things up which im sure will be even new problems. I always look forward to new chapters every year and now i get to look forward to a crappy season format. Will see i guess. i dont play to be frustrated and as soon as this game turns into that im out.

TwiceBornStar

Sounds good to me!

RomanRex

kensan62_ESO wrote: »

maybe im reading this different than everyone else but what im getting out of it is Less new areas, harder difficulty to play the game, and seasonal content that will be around older areas that are gimmicky. also sounds to me like the store will be a big part of getting any new content at all. so for 14.99 a month i will now be getting less content that is harder to play. I really hope this is not the case. I dont know what player base has changed. ive been playing this game for a long time and the problems not being fixed still arent and now we are changing things up which im sure will be even new problems. I always look forward to new chapters every year and now i get to look forward to a crappy season format. Will see i guess. i dont play to be frustrated and as soon as this game turns into that im out.

same way i read it.

SaintJohnHM

I don't know what any of that means.

Just give us four dungeons and a trial. No need to complicate things.

NikkoDarwin

I'm very on the fence here. I will wait to see what it looks like before making a proper judgement but I will miss chapters....I really liked them. So that aspect I am not "happy" about. I look forward to the new zone. Definitely feels like there will be less content. 😕

festegios

Pls, cmx for consoles. 🥲

festegios

Luke_Flamesword wrote: »

l I hope that means that eso+ subscribers will have access to all new content without paying anything additional like chapters from previous years?

I’m imagining a per season charge of you want to play the latest season otherwise your 3/6 months behind.

Asdara

Thats actually the best news ever, finnaly overland content, finally updated visuals.
And now tackle how champion point and skill point are useless and i'll be here another decade

Faulgor

I'm only sad we are losing the January showcase. That was always a post-christmas highlight in an otherwise depressing time of year.

Everything else sounds almost too good to be true (visual base game upgrade? overland difficulty? combat animation upgrades? WHAT!?).

KnightofGears

Sounds like some great plans indeed.

The more difficult overland worries me a bit though.
A long time ago when I first signed up (around the release of the elseweyr expansion I think?) for ESO I quit pretty soon after because I got hopelessly stuck in overworld content (summerset main quest), and didn't come back to the game until about a year ago. I really don't want to go back to that. It was very frustrating at the time.

Other than that the future plans look great, I'm looking forward to more content for the factions. Changes to PVP sound good too. When it says PVP specific skills, does that mean PVP will be balanced separately from PVE in future?

Ugrak

This sounds very promising.

INM

These are all good points that (arguably) should have been implemented years ago. Still, better late than never. The question is whether you actually intend to implement all of that, or it's just another stage in development cost optimization, where we are supposed to think that we're getting more with actually getting less.

Ella_Mental

There is a lot of really good information in this letter, but here are the things that got a STRONG REACTION from me:

1. At FIRST (aka, my opinion has changed on this to hopeful with reserved worry) when I read the words "Changing to SEASONS" my spirit dropped and immediately I thought "This is what finally ended up killing Destiny 2". At first seasons were a great change and welcomed, but season after season they just started "releasing new content" that was basically exactly the same schedule. Season release, new PvE activity to grind and gear to go for (which by the way, were set up to grind out SPECIFICALLY like every prior season) and everyone began to know that when the season released you unlocked the thing you would be daily grinding, leveled it, and same thing for next season. The new content was hardly (if ever) varied.

---> HOWEVER!!! Upon further reading came, "A new focus on change and experimentation" which basically says you're listening but are unsure what kinds of PvE activity will end up really succeeding for players in the long run (what we'll love and welcome) and which will be tolerated or forgotten (ones you would regret investing too much time in and missing out on coming up with something different).
- You came up with the idea to drop EXPERIMENTAL ACTIVITY IDEAS and LET PLAYERS tell you what is working and what isn't!!!
I believe this is a FANTASTIC idea as it will give players content to spend their time on AND the wonderful opportunity for us to tell you "FORGET IT" so you can scrap it and start working on something different that we could love instead!

---> My reaction has become HOPEFUL for this, with a healthy dose of "we will see if they fall into the same tired grind traps" added. Please don't follow Destiny 2 example! It lasted for awhile, true, but players were SO SICK of this rhythm that those who would put up with a lot to keep playing a loved game even quit forever.

2. I was LITERALLY just in a thread (like many others, and all over the different ESO communities on other web forums) saying the player was returning from a many years absence and needed to know what new-to-them goals and important activities need to be prioritized above others so they don't later find out they've wasted their time on one thing when they should have been doing something else.
---> Though I doubt this overhaul will do EXACTLY what new players/returning players are asking for (aka a tier list of important activities to accomplish lol), any updates in this area are GREATLY NEEDED.
---> "Sprucing up the game's PC UI, which is long overdue for a modern visual upgrade." I'm really hopeful about this, but as with most PC players I utilize an addon to customize my UI to accomplish this and hope these changes ONLY ADD TO OPTIONS the player can choose to utilize or not (aka, don't limit what I choose to display lol).

There was, of course, more mentioned, but I wished to react on the above topics which I feel personally strong about and say to summarize I am at the moment VERY PLEASED and EXTREMELY HOPEFUL these changes deliver what you guys intend for our experience!
Thank you for the information!

colossalvoids

Honestly, I'm surprised. Probably for the first time in years it's a positive one. I'm glad to read that stagnating state game was in would be cleansed with new ideas and addressing old standing feedback be it PvP, difficulty overhaul or a visual one for the oldest zones - both would do wonders if done right.

Good luck on execution of those principles, hope to see positive results or at least lack of fear before the community's feedback!

Froil

I have to admit these changes sound quite interesting, but I will be cautiously optimistic about it for now, until we learn more.

While I'm glad to hear we might get expanded stories for the guilds, I wonder if we could get "alternatives" for them, like the Morag Tong as a mutually exclusive parallel to the Dark Brotherhood.

I must admit I do wonder if we're going to continue to get a new trial (or more) every year now, or maybe even new arenas.

As for new zones I can only hope we'll see unused parts of Hammerfell and Black Marsh, and old zones integration of newer architecture, whether brand new or reused assets from previously existing chapters, newer enemies, like replacing alits on Khenarthi's Roost with terror birds, maybe updating the generic NPC clothing models or textures, adding new AI and abilities to enemies, etc.

bantamguar

but in 2025 expect to see named Seasons of three or six months duration with a mix of themed story content, events, store items, dungeons and more.

Have to say.. if story of all things is time sensitive, this might be it for me.

Events I can miss. But as someone with limited time to play, I love not having to miss out on questing as they're what got me into the game. Hope this won't be the case.

VixxVexx

Anyone else getting maintenance mode vibes from reading this? I read this as restructuring/downsizing.