Zenimax/ESO Data Inquiry

Avran_Sylt

So recently been reading a lot of posts about people being pissed off about not getting aesthetic items via the crown crates. A lot of people are saying that ZOS is making money hand over fist from a game who is at the base a free to play one time purchase game. I actually am curious and would love to be able to figure out an estimate.

To make this estimate though I'd likely need this information:
Zenimax:
Total number of people employed by Zenimax Online Studios (full-time employees, for a lowball, but easily calculated estimate)
Average Salary of employees
Utilities cost of the Zenimax Offices
Any recent lawsuits
Development Costs

ESO:
Active ESO+ subscriptions
Purchased Copies since launch/ versions

I'm assuming with that information we'd be able to figure out if from just the ESO+ subs alone Zenimax is able to finance themselves. Might also give more insight as to why the Crown Store has been seeing so much love. If anyone can provide any information it'd be awesome.

(I'm currently of the opinion that Zenimax does not currently profit from the number of ESO+ subs, and uses the crown store to actually make a profit or at least break even. Reason being, if the 2012 wikipedia entry is correct in that Zenimax has 250 employees, assuming each paid at minimum a 41,000 salary, that yearly cost alone for employees is $10,250,000.00. This would require a minimum of (at 78$ for 6 months, twice for a yearly sub) 65,706 ESO+ subscriptions to cover employee cost alone)

ManwithBeard9

But its not Free to Play . . .







Also, youll never get any info from them.

Avran_Sylt

Ack, you're right. Forgot about the initial purchase.

Burgererer

ManwithBeard9 wrote: »

But its not Free to Play . . .







Also, you'll never get any info from them.

Kinda like what he said, its B2P, if I'm using that acronym correctly? Secondly, sounds awfully rude and demanding to know all their personal business info like that. I'd say you're not gonna have much luck at all getting any of that information, because it's private and can be released at their own discretion. And ultimately, why do you really need to know how much they make? Personally, I've always been a strong believer in "curiosity killed the khajiit."

Avran_Sylt

Burgererer wrote: »

ManwithBeard9 wrote: »

But its not Free to Play . . .







Also, you'll never get any info from them.

Kinda like what he said, its B2P, if I'm using that acronym correctly? Secondly, sounds awfully rude and demanding to know all their personal business info like that. I'd say you're not gonna have much luck at all getting any of that information, because it's private and can be released at their own discretion. And ultimately, why do you really need to know how much they make? Personally, I've always been a strong believer in "curiosity killed the khajiit."

Fair enough, I do understand how it'd be considered rude to ask for that business info. I guess my view is kinda skewed, I imagine that business transparency is a way for a company to get more in touch with their player base. So that players who want to actively involve themselves with trying to figure out ways to help the company grow or at least handle PR in the forums on all fronts have the information to do as such. Though I do understand that such transparency might harm the company in terms of future investors if it seems that they're not performing well. That and it'd also be extra work that they don't have the time or manpower to manage.

Burgererer

Good points. Sorry if I myself sounded rude or aggressive, I just have a weird bias towards ZOS because they come from a publisher that's been important to my vidja game playing since I was a lad. But I believe I understand where you're coming from, and the importance to a developer of being able to connect with your players.

BlackSparrow

Yeah, this was pretty much my thinking too when I posted a similar number in this thread.

The problem with B2P is it's not sustainable by itself in the long run, because box sales are just not going to keep up with the ongoing costs of an MMO. So while box sales were probably pretty decent for a short time after the subscription model was dropped, you can see clear signs that they've been pushing to get more revenue in other ways since then, so I'd suspect box sales are pretty much a drop in the proverbial bucket at this point, compared to ongoing income from subs and the Crown Store.

But, unfortunately, we can only speculate, because the company is just not going to release their finances like that, and thus the people who think ZOS is "making money hand over fist" will continue to claim so. *shrug*

vaidotas

It's pay to play and is not freemium, because you can finish all story lines without any of crown crates or additional real money purchases. In case you did not noticed free games like "clash of clans" you can buy stuff but if you play without cash it takes ridiculous amount of time to max out everything, and it's just a mini-game. Looking at the ESO you can tell by the game size and full voice acting, it's so far from mini-game like my grandmother from understanding that there are a lot of bigger stars than sun

acw37162

Almost all the information you have requested is available publicly as the companies in play here are all publicaly traded.

If you really wanted this information a computer, access to the Internet, access to a telephone, and anywhere from three days to two weeks of your time depending on how good you are at financial research and how well you get along with people when asking for information.

Access to the trade industry publications will also help.

It's a multi-million dollar game.

The people who run it are making six figures because you want smart talented people running a multi million dollar investment.

The rest make an average salary and work really long for little to no recognition.