What about the long-term vision for Elder Scrolls?

Nosferatu_BE

Hello,

Considering the advent of a new console generation I started wondering what the future vision for Elder Scrolls Online is going to be. First off, yes I play the the Xbox version but this question spans all systems.

The first and lesser part of this question is whether or not the game will migrate (with or without graphical update) to the new systems? The second part and more substantial question I am actually gauging about is a long-term vision, meaning e.g. 5 - 10 years or more.

Let me clarify the latter part:

It's a given that MMORPG games can have long lifespans, but eventually there will come an end to it's popularity. We'd like to avoid thinking about it, but instead I'd suggest a different perspective or even a suggestion.

Personally I'm drawn to the Elders Scrolls universe for its rich lore and fantasy setting, in a much lesser part to the multiplayer component. Obviously some will agree, some not or only partly. But the given fact is that sustaining multiplayer infrastructure requires money and that business plan doesn't hold up when player numbers start to dwindle.
Offline single player or even private co-operative through peer-to-peer (or more correctly 'listen'-servers) however is still very much possible for some examples like dungeons, trials and questing or other instances.

Since there is such a vast amount of story content, much of which I and many might not have explored yet my suggestion is pretty straightforward:
I'd like to inquire and/or suggest to make the game playable offline somewhere in the distant future. I know this implies several omittances or compromises, but it is possible if planned correctly (e.g. certain items and enemies will need stat tweaking and scripting needs to be modified). That is why I'm mentioning this right now as it would require consideration in the roadmap and preparation.

I do believe from a business point it makes sense as we see even now on Steam for example old games where support has long since stopped are still being sold. Revenue is likely limited, but if the code is finished and perfected there's no upkeep either.

I hate to point fingers, but one of my favourite games (Evolve, Turtle Rock Studios) pulled the plug without such a preparation. You can still play PvP, but you need to jump through some hoops to get the Multiplayer working in peer-to-peer (or 'listen') as official ranked servers are offline. In this case only a few minor menu tweaks would've been necessary to improve the 'Quality of Life' for people still playing the game and increase the odds of new players picking up the game after official support had failed. Now it's just pulled from the store and no one gets any better from it.

Thanks for reading.


P.S. This writing is intended for the developers and/or community managers. My opinions are my own and I do not read comments and seldom reply. Sometimes I adjust grammar or sentencing, nothing substantial (non-native English speaker).
If other community members like to support the idea I'd suggest using the poll, keeping the thread alive or supporting the idea.