The Gold Road Chapter – which includes the Scribing system – and Update 42 is now available to test on the PTS! You can read the latest patch notes here: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/656454/
Maintenance for the week of April 29:
• PC/Mac: No maintenance – April 29
• PC/Mac: No maintenance – April 29
How many years will ESO last?
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driosketch✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭It's lasted 7 years so far, past one console generation and the support life of Windows 8. It can probably ride out the rest of this generation, or until TES 6 comes out. So a lifespan of 12 years or so.Main: Drio Azul ~ DC, Redguard, Healer/Magicka Templar ~ NA-PC
●The Psijic Order●The Sidekick Order●Great House Hlaalu●Bal-Busters●6 -
The_Old_Goat✭✭✭✭✭
✭Unless Tes 6 is online, it probably won't be ringing the death toll for ESO. A lot of solid friendships have been forged here. That being said, guesstimating the lifespan of a game is much like shaking the proverbial magic 8 ball, who knows...22 -
Girl_Number8✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭The forums will last longer then the game....
Since Microsoft came around, I would say if they fix and update somethings a long time. The game is still making money from newer players.3 -
phaneub17_ESO✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭If they can keep up with adding a new zone every year, which is faster than most other games. Also making everything level synced means you can do them in any order and still be relevant is a good choice over making new content the only thing to do. There is still a massive world to fill out, I see at least another 8 years.Edited by phaneub17_ESO on April 7, 2021 6:57PM5 -
Linaleah✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Tibia and ultima online are still active and being updated regularly - and they released in 1997. and those are just the oldest. there are a few more games pushing into the tail end of their second decade of existence and doing just fine.
maybe ESO will not last decades that those games have, but 6-8 more years at least is not an unreasonable expectation.dirty worthless casual.
Lois McMaster Bujold "A Civil Campaign"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the ***8 -
amapola76✭✭✭✭✭
✭I would guess at least another five years. There's easily that much content that could be added and we probably won't see TES6 until then.
It could potentially last for an unforeseen number of years beyond that, as you could imagine other content that could be added once the primary Tamriel map is filled out, and there are lots of unique ideas that players are constantly requesting. At that point, I would think it's simply a question of what's technically feasible/ideal, and just purely financial considerations. Are they sustaining a solid player base? Are they continuing to turn a profit? Etc.0 -
BejaProphet✭✭✭✭✭
✭Long enough that you should play it, not long enough to be what gives your life meaning.Royal Poet's Dungeon Tanking Guide https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/416797/royal-poets-guide-to-traditional-tanking-in-veteran-dungeons#latest3 -
Snowstrider✭✭✭✭✭I feel like sooner or later they have to do something big and new with ESO instead of the same old content we get that changes very little.0 -
RageKing✭✭✭✭The game isnt just going to shut down, it will last for years until there is a huge shift in gaming and we are gaming in legit VR in a few decades.
Now the real question is what will the population look like in 10 years?1 -
RageKing✭✭✭✭And if the rumored ElderScrolls Tv show on netflix is any good, it will most likely bring alot of new players to the game.2
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Ratzkifal✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Microsoft bought Bethesda to make some cash, so obviously they are going to use its lucrative franchises to their full potential. ESO is a machine that continuously is printing them money for as long as they keep it running. It's safe to assume that ESO will continue to exist for now.
Other companies that take over MMOs often take the path of short-term profits, lowering investments into their MMO to maximize revenue for minimized investments. This goes well for a while because the changes are not imminent. For ESO this timescale is probably a year, so the Q4 DLC of this year we'd notice. If not then we'd notice during next year's chapter because I feel ZOS can easily get away with a low effort dungeon DLC without anyone noticing. This is spiraling it into a cycle of decreasing investments further and further until it only runs on life support, which is the point at which ESO has died officially.
What I feel Microsoft is more likely to do though is increase investments into ESO because it is the fastest way to make money off of their purchase. Similarly Starfield will probably get more investment so the game won't flop, or they actually cut its budget and push people to develop TES6 faster since that is less of a risk to take and more likely to succeed.
For ESO this approach might mean even more crown store items and more DLC exclusive features to drive sales. If Minecraft is setting the standard for Microsoft takeovers, then expect ZOS to start listening to their customers (aka us) more, especially when it comes to features and what skills should be changed to be more fun and excitement. It might also end up in fewer but more and larger high-quality content updates as is the case with Minecraft too. Minecraft has announced its Caves and Cliffs update one year in advance and keeps updating everyone on their progress in the meantime. It is one of their biggest updates yet and also the most requested one. Whether this means Microsoft will restore PvP to its former glory or do something completely different is unclear. But I feel the future of ESO is actually less grim with Microsoft being in charge. Unless they force us to convert our accounts into Microsoft accounts...This Bosmer was tortured to death. There is nothing left to be done.4 -
scorpius2k1✭✭✭✭✭
✭I would guess at least another five years. There's easily that much content that could be added and we probably won't see TES6 until then.
It could potentially last for an unforeseen number of years beyond that, as you could imagine other content that could be added once the primary Tamriel map is filled out, and there are lots of unique ideas that players are constantly requesting. At that point, I would think it's simply a question of what's technically feasible/ideal, and just purely financial considerations. Are they sustaining a solid player base? Are they continuing to turn a profit? Etc.
I concur; my feeling is that ESO is in it's "prime" phase right now - for the company, players, or both. I would guess the rest of the map would get filled out first and then there may be a turning point, good or bad, depending on where ESO is as an interest to players and an investment to the company. At the end of the day, as long as this game continues to meet the financial requirements and needs of Zenimax, it will likely be invested into for years to come. If I had put a date on things, guessing 6-8 years for the rest of the Tamriel to be filled out, and yearly content releases after that -- who knows what that could be. I would like to see the rest of the islands, continents, and even new realms, planes, etc.
So many places yet to be created/explored in ESO...- Northern Continents Aldmeris, Atmora
- Yokuda & Thras Islands
- Pyandonea & Aldmeris island-continents
- Esroniet, Cathnoquey, and Yneslea
- The entire eastern continent of Akavir
...just to name a few, Nirn alone is a BIG place!
Take a look at World of Warcraft, it's going on now for 17+ years. I think if Zenimax really focuses on the community, irons out bugs and QoL and keeps a solid plan going, ESO could have the entirety of Nirn, last as long, or even longer than that.
There is so much untapped potential in the Elder Scrolls Universe, lets go!
🌎 PC/NA
🐧 Linux (Arch)
🧑💻 ESO Addon Dev
⚔️ Stamplar | Magplar | Stamcro | Magsorc | Magcro Healer4 -
Snowstrider✭✭✭✭✭scorpius2k1 wrote: »I would guess at least another five years. There's easily that much content that could be added and we probably won't see TES6 until then.
It could potentially last for an unforeseen number of years beyond that, as you could imagine other content that could be added once the primary Tamriel map is filled out, and there are lots of unique ideas that players are constantly requesting. At that point, I would think it's simply a question of what's technically feasible/ideal, and just purely financial considerations. Are they sustaining a solid player base? Are they continuing to turn a profit? Etc.
I concur; my feeling is that ESO is in it's "prime" phase right now - for the company, players, or both. I would guess the rest of the map would get filled out first and then there may be a turning point, good or bad, depending on where ESO is as an interest to players and an investment to the company. At the end of the day, as long as this game continues to meet the financial requirements and needs of Zenimax, it will likely be invested into for years to come. If I had put a date on things, guessing 6-8 years for the rest of the Tamriel to be filled out, and yearly content releases after that -- who knows what that could be. I would like to see the rest of the islands, continents, and even new realms, planes, etc.
So many places yet to be created/explored in ESO...- Northern Continents Aldmeris, Atmora
- Yokuda & Thras Islands
- Pyandonea & Aldmeris island-continents
- Esroniet, Cathnoquey, and Yneslea
- The entire eastern continent of Akavir
...just to name a few, Nirn alone is a BIG place!
Take a look at World of Warcraft, it's going on now for 17+ years. I think if Zenimax really focuses on the community, irons out bugs and QoL and keeps a solid plan going, ESO could have the entirety of Nirn, last as long, or even longer than that.
There is so much untapped potential in the Elder Scrolls Universe, lets go!
As Elder Scrolls is very dear to me i honestly dont want all of nirn or even all of tamriel in ESO since I do not think ZOS can do the world justice and I will just end up being dissapointed.. I dont want ESO version of tamriel to effect future TES games but they probably will so thats why i dont want all of tamriel.
Alot of places in tamriel deserves a proper normal TES game.1 -
Eedat✭✭✭✭✭Considering the population grew 20% this year, I wouldn't expect it to be going anywhere anytime soon. How long it'll last is impossible to say though0
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ArcVelarian✭✭✭✭✭If they fix their PvP servers? Another 10 years, otherwise it's more like 2 before the player population starts plummeting beyond the point of no return.
Murphy's Law of PvP : If it can be abused and or exploited, it will be abused and or exploited.2 -
scorpius2k1✭✭✭✭✭
✭
I hear you, as it is to me as well. I first got into the Elder Scrolls via single player games too and once had that same outlook. I don't think it's right to restrict having one available and not the other though because each (single, multiplayer) can compliment each other as they already have. Two separate studios can indeed work similar projects at the same time and collaborate and synergize (I would guess they already do). We could also say that expectations haven't really been delivered in recent years for the single-player area from BGS. I think both single/multiplayer components are invaluable because it gives players a choice and the company something to sell to keep the entire ecosystem alive. TES6 was announced almost 3 years ago and who really knows when it's official release will happen. I don't want to wait 10 or more years for another small sliver of Nirn. It seems single-player is more useful for smaller pieces of the Elder Scrolls universe in greater detail, while the multiplayer (ESO) puts a larger area to play in with less details. I personally would like to see it before the span of an average human lifetime. If the multiplayer version of the Elder Scrolls is all I get, then I'm okay with that personally.Snowstrider wrote: »As Elder Scrolls is very dear to me i honestly dont want all of nirn or even all of tamriel in ESO since I do not think ZOS can do the world justice and I will just end up being dissapointed.. I dont want ESO version of tamriel to effect future TES games but they probably will so thats why i dont want all of tamriel.
Alot of places in tamriel deserves a proper normal TES game.
🌎 PC/NA
🐧 Linux (Arch)
🧑💻 ESO Addon Dev
⚔️ Stamplar | Magplar | Stamcro | Magsorc | Magcro Healer2 -
SirAndy✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I came here to the forums mid 2013 after several early beta sessions. That was 8 years ago.
And in October of 2013 i became part of the super secret "Psijic Order" in-house test group.
Even back then people were already predicting a quick and painful death of the game.
Instead of dwelling on what may or may not happen in the future, i tend to enjoy the game while it is still here.
Edited by SirAndy on April 7, 2021 8:50PM6 -
Tandor✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭ArcVelarian wrote: »If they fix their PvP servers? Another 10 years, otherwise it's more like 2 before the player population starts plummeting beyond the point of no return.
The PvP-only population is a tiny percentage of the overall population, and people have been complaining about the PvP performance since launch but they're still mostly here. They talk about other new games coming out, but the reality is that none of them look remotely promising or even timely. At least one may not strictly speaking constitute vaporware but given how long it's been in development and the slow progress being made even now it's pretty close to that status. PvPers still play ESO because despite whatever issues they feel it has there simply isn't a better alternative now or on the horizon.
There's a reason why the MMORPG genre hasn't moved beyond the current generation of games, and it's because they're hugely enjoyable to a growing market. Sure, some players feel nothing's advancing or their particular grievances aren't being addressed and so they say they're moving on, but for every one that does so another ten new players log in, and a good many of those quitting players either don't actually quit or they come back anyway. The grass is never actually greener...
If ZOS continue to run the game the way they are doing, with new content and steady evolution, then the game will be around for a long time yet. The biggest challenge a lot of players face is the need to pace themselves accordingly rather than rushing through the game as if it's going to fold the week after next!4 -
Destai✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭scorpius2k1 wrote: »I would guess at least another five years. There's easily that much content that could be added and we probably won't see TES6 until then.
It could potentially last for an unforeseen number of years beyond that, as you could imagine other content that could be added once the primary Tamriel map is filled out, and there are lots of unique ideas that players are constantly requesting. At that point, I would think it's simply a question of what's technically feasible/ideal, and just purely financial considerations. Are they sustaining a solid player base? Are they continuing to turn a profit? Etc.
I concur; my feeling is that ESO is in it's "prime" phase right now - for the company, players, or both. I would guess the rest of the map would get filled out first and then there may be a turning point, good or bad, depending on where ESO is as an interest to players and an investment to the company. At the end of the day, as long as this game continues to meet the financial requirements and needs of Zenimax, it will likely be invested into for years to come. If I had put a date on things, guessing 6-8 years for the rest of the Tamriel to be filled out, and yearly content releases after that -- who knows what that could be. I would like to see the rest of the islands, continents, and even new realms, planes, etc.
So many places yet to be created/explored in ESO...- Northern Continents Aldmeris, Atmora
- Yokuda & Thras Islands
- Pyandonea & Aldmeris island-continents
- Esroniet, Cathnoquey, and Yneslea
- The entire eastern continent of Akavir
...just to name a few, Nirn alone is a BIG place!
Take a look at World of Warcraft, it's going on now for 17+ years. I think if Zenimax really focuses on the community, irons out bugs and QoL and keeps a solid plan going, ESO could have the entirety of Nirn, last as long, or even longer than that.
There is so much untapped potential in the Elder Scrolls Universe, lets go!
I believe ESO can last that long, especially looking at the life of Skyrim and WoW respectively. I definitely feel like it's doing the best it's ever done. I'm really happy to see it going so well, to be honest. I remember in the early years, didn't seem like this game would really fare well.
The game would be better served if the constant QoL requests were even acknowledged by the CM team. They can't be bothered. Eventually, things get fixed one or the other, but we're none the wiser of their priority. Like any live game, there's issues and I think overall ZOS does a good job handling issues. Some issues persist longer than expected, which again, if only there were better communication it.
This game will survive despite this, but in the long run, I wonder what the game could've been with a more engaged community management team.Edited by Destai on April 7, 2021 8:55PM1 -
Twilanthe✭✭✭So long as ESO stays relatively the same in terms of content release and quality I don't see it ending any time soon. People still play EQ1 and 2, and Runescape. I can say with some amount of certainty that unless they were to make this game 100% P2W or just stop releasing content for it, I'll be here, and I don't imagine I'm the only one. Lüc - Argonian Necromancer Healer
PC-NA3 -
Elsonso✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Even back then people were already predicting a quick and painful death of the game.
This game has "died" so many times, even cats are envious.10 -
Kwoung✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭So long as ESO stays relatively the same in terms of content release and quality I don't see it ending any time soon. People still play EQ1 and 2, and Runescape. I can say with some amount of certainty that unless they were to make this game 100% P2W or just stop releasing content for it, I'll be here, and I don't imagine I'm the only one.
I can still login to EQ1 and visit the characters I created some 23 years ago now I think and still have new content I never played? Pretty sure ESO has a very long ways to go... and if they do a major overhaul at some point, could probably keep it going forever.0 -
RedMuse✭✭✭✭✭
✭ArcVelarian wrote: »If they fix their PvP servers? Another 10 years, otherwise it's more like 2 before the player population starts plummeting beyond the point of no return.
I think you overestimate how large the pvp population of this game is.11
