With the ways things are currently going how long do you think eso has left?

DarkStrifeYT · October 15

Lets say ESO stays the way it is and never changes. (Ik ZOS is planning on fixing things so this is hypothetical) How long till the players leave the game entirely leaving the game into a ghost town? Also on your vote if it isn't show me the results what is the reason behind your vote?(Again this is just a hypothetical question and not saying the game is dying, its still alive).

KalevaLaine · October 15

Less than 2 years

I think that ESO will die within the next 2 years. For me as an example - was playing about 10 years but last changes, especially Subclassing destroyed it for me. All my friends quit the game, I only log in once per week for my raid, after it I will also quit. Sad about my 3600 Cp. ^^

Rufusstan · October 15

Less than a year

For me at least.

I've got a stack of single player games lined up, and am going to retire from MMOs altogether for a bit.

Aylish · October 15

Less than 3 years

With the low quantity AND quality that was delivered this year, I doubt that they can gather enough money for more than a few years.

I do hope that the game will last longer but I see people leaving and stop paying for stuff.

Lixiviant · October 15

More than 5 years but will die eventually

Still playing this after 10 years and I enjoy it. I mean, we all take a break and play other games and sometimes I let my ESO + lapse, but a good game to come back to. Hope it sticks around.

scrappy1342 · October 15

Show me the results

as long as there's enough ppl playing to keep the lights on, i don't think they'd ever pull the plug. they could keep it going and just maintain what is there without investing any more into it. there are ppl who would still play and new ppl who would play it solo before moving on to something else.

if by "dying" you mean simply "players leave the game entirely leaving the game into a ghost town," that is subjective and some might argue that we are already there. population is down unless something major is going on. the economy has tanked.

so... somewhere between "less than a year" and "never" lol

Vaqual · October 15

I have spent more time playing "dead" games in the last couple years than new releases.

Nestor · October 15

This question has been asked every year since the game launched. 2 things to note. This question will be asked next year and the year after and so on. And the answers always range from less than a year to never.

moderatelyfatman · October 15

Less than 2 years

ESO will never die until ZOS decides to turn off the server but PvP is already dead .The 'less than 2 years' I voted is for mid to endgame PvE which is already on life support.

The only parts of the game that are still healthy are the casuals who drop in for just the dailies (that's perfectly cool), the fashionistas (love them) and housing enthusiasts (in awe).

The reason why I think mid to endgame PvE will die in less than 2 years ESO has lost their main feature that made gameplay and combat unique.

In the past, the main comment about ESO was generally along the lines of 'this game is so buggy but when it works there is nothing like it!'.

Compared to other games such as FF14 which had more classes, ESO was unparalleled for its class build diversity. You could theoretically tank, heal or dps with each class (and yes, I know DKs weren't great healers and NB weren't great tanks). In PvP part of the fun was trying to work out what skills and item sets your opponent was using against you.

This is no longer true. The loss of diversity that started with hybridisation has now finished with subclassing.

New classes are some of the best selling points of new expansions: they target both old and newer players equally. How many new features can normally get former players back into the game and get them to stay and redo older content? In the past if ZOS released a new class (i.e. Warden, Necro, Arcanist) then players would flock to learn how to play the class, its strengths and weakness, and the general feel of how the class 'handles' in PvE and PvP.

Now a new class now will simply be dissected upon arrival and the relevant skill line cannibalised into a new meta. They'll be none of the 'nightblades are fast, hit hard but are squishy' or 'DKs are so tanky' responses anymore. The excitement for a new skill line won't be anything like that for a new class and players won't be spending hundreds of hours trying to master that class.

So ESO has pretty much lost what has made it unique in terms of gameplay. The only thing it has left is the Elder Scrolls identity which will attract new players but won't keep them.

So unless I see an announcement regarding a massive restructuring at ZOS, particularly with the combat design team, I don't see any major changes and the game will continue to wither away.

duagloth · October 15

It shall never die

Not as long as the whales are funding the crown crates

Mrnetch3211 · October 15

Less than 3 years

Well TES6 was said to be dropping around 2028 and a lot of elder scrolls fans will definitely be taking time off to explore and discover. And you never know maybe they might drift away from eso in that time anything's possible I guess.

DarkStrifeYT · October 15

Show me the results

duagloth wrote: »

Not as long as the whales are funding the crown crates

(Zos this is for humor)

moderatelyfatman · October 15

Less than 2 years

duagloth wrote: »

Not as long as the whales are funding the crown crates

Can a game be dead if the servers are still running so that a few hundred whales can log and buy stuff from the store?

I''d argue that an MMO is dead when it ceases creating genuinely new content outside of the in-game store but instead recycles old assets and resells it back to the players.

gusthermopyle · October 15

It shall never die

oh ffs

JiubLeRepenti · October 15

Show me the results

I think the game population will keep shrinking, but that the game will live likely forever thanks to the whales who pay 80-100€ for a house, 35€ for a mount or an armor style and hundreds of euros for the Crown crates, etc.

You'll still see CP2000 players doing dailies in five years, even if the Dreugh wax is 2k gold worth

Jestir · October 15

Less than 3 years

Even with how things slowed down with necrom and gold road I continued to believe the game was still going to chug along well enough for a long time but even with how much excitement u46 brought in, u47 and the next have me incredibly worried for this games future

Tazzy · October 15

Show me the results

They will survive as long as they can feed the beast and its shareholders sufficiently. (And this year, the beast has already growled loudly...)

Destai · October 15

Less than 5 years

Let's say there's two definitions of "dead".

One is technically dead - like Wildstar. Fully shutdown, no longer in existence.
One is culturally dead. The playerbase has reached its nadir, the game has fully accommodated that nadir with aggressive monetization and no major content releases. Aion is an example.

I believe we'll arrive at the latter in ~2 years, and a shutdown within ~5 years, if the current trajectory continues. But really, I have no definitive idea.

moderatelyfatman wrote: »

ESO will never die until ZOS decides to turn off the server but PvP is already dead .The 'less than 2 years' I voted is for mid to endgame PvE which is already on life support.

I think PVP's stabilized at its lower population. We'll see what the outcome of vengeance testing is. Maybe a crazy change will be made and people will flock back to ESO PVP. They need to make some statements about where the vengeance testing is going and what the overall plan is for PVP. But, given how challenging communication is for ZOS, I don't see that happening.

Now with trials, I think they started ailing with U35, and are reaching their nadir. If we don't get a trial this coming year, then it's going to die for sure. Veteran dungeons will become harder to complete. I think we'll see less people interested in them. I'm certainly one of them.

moderatelyfatman wrote: »

The only parts of the game that are still healthy are the casuals who drop in for just the dailies (that's perfectly cool), the fashionistas (love them) and housing enthusiasts (in awe).

I'm solidly in this bucket. Heck, I think I spend more time on the forums than I do in the game. I'm mostly a dailies-doer and part-time fashionista.

moderatelyfatman wrote: »

The reason why I think mid to endgame PvE will die in less than 2 years ESO has lost their main feature that made gameplay and combat unique.

I think that's only part of it. Despite all of the issues with combat and complaints about subclassing, I'm more worried about a content drought. I still have fun making builds, even though definitely I want it to be better. But I'm more in the place where there's nothing meaningful or fun where I can use the combat. So, it's a situation where dailies are what's left. I'm attached to my characters and that's what keeps me logging.

moderatelyfatman wrote: »

In the past, the main comment about ESO was generally along the lines of 'this game is so buggy but when it works there is nothing like it!'.

I've played a ton of MMOs and ESO is by far the buggiest. I love ESO, but I think the bugginess is a real struggle.

Even this event - the progress bar is having issues. There were bugs and issues reported on PTS, those made it to Live AGAIN. Seems like each release has a complementary "Thank you for patience" from Kevin. We really shouldn't be in that place with a 10+ year old game.

moderatelyfatman wrote: »

So unless I see an announcement regarding a massive restructuring at ZOS, particularly with the combat design team, I don't see any major changes and the game will continue to wither away.

With the recent restructures, I hoped for fresh talent on the combat team. But sadly that didn't happen and we only have the newly-appointed studio leadership.

And after seeing the AUA, I'm not confident in them yet. They've been a part of the game for a while for years. They should know the issues, so it's interesting to see more surveys.

On one hand, previous leadership didn't seem the most communicative and it's a nice change. It shows they're making an effort and at least understand there's problems.

On the other hand, it feels very performative. The forums and reddit contain all of the feedback already. The questions don't seem to very focused on the actual issues; they lack nuance. Until I see a PTS cycle actually change a release, I'll continue to believe that our feedback is secondary to their vision.

Combat's only one of the major issues. We need fresh eyes on whichever team is deciding what rewards get put into crown crates vs. actual content .

Lolinda · October 15

im here since beta and im sad there is less and less content and its all the time similar, i dont feel like playing so much, i guess its also the game engine, id like someone do eso 2.0 ... but ofc fingers crossed

Onomos · October 15

More than 5 years but will die eventually

Without some fundamental changes, the player base will continue to shrink until it eventually dies. But I think that's years away.

AzuraFan · October 15

I have no idea how long ESO will last. I think it could last a while if the leadership is willing to make meaningful change. If it's going to be the same old, same old, and with less content released each year, then it'll die sooner rather than later. But it doesn't have to.

They've been saying they're working on cool stuff. If that stuff brings something new, the game could revitalize a little. If it's just hype, the game won't die right away, but the population will dwindle and the game will slowly die. Or quickly die, if MS pulls the plug.

Could go either way at this point. There's still time, but not if they keep going for a short-term bump in numbers by throwing spaghetti against the wall without much thought to the consequences. Short-term thinking will give them a short-term game. If they want a 30-year game, they need to start thinking long-term and release well-designed systems meant to engage and last. They need to break out of their patterns: mindless daily grinds (dailies, endeavors), repetitive busy work (golden pursuits), same old mechanics that are often just "prolong fights artificially" or "throw in the kitchen sink" (dungeon and WB boss design).

The Writhing Wall event is actually promising in that sense. They're trying something new, and that's good. We need more experimentation and new stuff, and less 6 delves, 6 WBS, X points of interest, X quest hubs, oh, and here's a new system that consists of you doing the same content that you already do for the other X systems, for the same types of shinies.

They also have to be willing to go where the playerbase goes, like they did with the overhaul when the game first released. Another MMO I used to play made a change to its story content when it saw that many players weren't engaging with it because they didn't want to group or couldn't group. They made it possible to do it solo by granting solo players huge buffs when they went through the content. (I'd previously written that they overhauled it, but then I remembered that they actually didn't change the content itself. Something ESO could learn from in terms of story mode for dungeons. They don't have to touch the dungeon itself - just give solo players buffs that make them pretty much unkillable). That game is still going today almost 20 years after it released. I'm not saying ZOS has to convert all group content to solo, but giving an example of another team paying attention and doing what it needed to do to keep players.

And finally...reward the players for investing time in ESO! Stop being stingy. People will stick around and play longer if they feel like they'll be rewarded for their efforts.

tomofhyrule · October 15

I’m not putting a number on things because I can’t predict anything. But I will say this year does feel different than all of those other “omg ESO is dying” complaints we have every year. I know every player claims the game is dead every time they hit a minor inconvenience, but there is something about the number of people claiming it this time that makes it feel less like a knee-jerk cry for attention and more like writing on the wall.

ESO’s focus has shifted hard to solo-RPG players, as evidenced by Subclassing and the number of players we now have proudly announcing that they play only solo. These players are mostly biding time until TES6 releases, and will drop ESO like a hot potato when it does. TES6 will offer them everything they want - better graphics, customizable difficulty, mods, no other players around spamming sparkleponies - so it’ll be tough for them to come back after they get that… and many would probably rather download a mod to add the zone they’re missing instead of coming back to ESO.
ESO has been bleeding endgamers since U35, and that turned into a full-on hemmorhage with Subclassing. No vet players (or at least vets who do training things) means no new people getting into endgame, which will lead to less reason to keep Finn’s team churning out content (which is the only thing keeping the sweaty PvErs around).
PvP. Do I need to say more? Vengeance isn’t a “new PvP” thing as much as it is a “PvP for non-PvPers!” thing. That playerbase has gotten nothing but scraps for ages, and the last we saw was that its success is all under the care of someone who doesn’t even know heavy attacks restore resources and can’t identify the one set that people have been complaining about for 2+ years.
One of ESO’s main strengths compared to other MMOs was that it had fewer Classes, but every Class was versatile. You could totally heal on a DK or the like, and in many cases it was a lot of fun to ‘break the mold,’ as it were. And now, all of that is gone. Now other MMOs have way more to offer since ESO is just 7 sets of skill lines while others have so many more playstyles to offer
We actually got some communication recently, but a lot of that showed us how differently the devs see things than the players. And again, a lot of comments (specifically from the Combat team) show they have no concept of what the problems are and how they are felt by actual players.
Microsoft’s shakeup was not a vote of confidence.
One entire supported language has just not been done this year, leaving a whole set of the players without voiced dialogue (which is one of the main things that sets ESO apart from other MMOs). I think the text was also machine-translated, so even that has times when it’s not right.
Solstice, whatever you think of it, had less content than previous years. The playerbase even has consistently voted that the writing peaked in the Orsinium-Summerset era, and has been on a steady decline since.
A lot of people like to bury their head in the sand and ignore SteamChart trends because “not all players use Steam!” but a trend is a trend for a reason, and unless you think that only Steam players are leaving and everyone else is staying, we can infer trends from relative populations. The numbers are going down.
Even ESO’s content creator team is mostly maining other games (like GW2) by now. It’s not a vote of confidence if many of your creator team has stopped making content for your game, and the ones that still are have a more “what on earth are they doing?” vibe to their videos.

Altogether, I won’t say ESO is dead, but this definitely has a different feel from the last 56 times “ESO is dead!” This time, it really does feel like the vultures are circling. There’s still time to turn it around, but they have to stop promising cool stuff and actually deliver cool stuff.

I have a feeling that ZOS is on a bit of a back foot right now since they were obviously expecting Subclassing to be some massive thing and bring so many lapsed players back, and instead they got a handful of returning people at the expense of a lot of others. They absolutely did not expect the number of people who preferred not to Subclass. The team is obviously scrambling, and so many of the things they’ve done since (like the wall event) have just fallen flat despite trying to hype them so hard. All of that will just make the next pass sell even worse.

But the big thing for me is that, as much as the new Director wants this to be a “30-year game!” it’s not like he’s going to be the one to decide that. ESO won’t be one of those games that dies because the population leaves - there will always be people who will defend it to their dying day. There’s a much more immediate danger that a lot of people are conveniently ignoring: once Microsoft (which is moving away from gaming) decides that ESO is no longer profitable and doesn’t want to pay for the servers anymore, they’ll pull the plug no matter how many people are there. And then, like Legends, it’ll only exist in documentation on the wiki.

So… can ESO prove to Microsoft that it is profitable, especially after this year is making a lot of people say “I’m not buying the next pass!”? Or are they going to keep “ignoring the haters” and listening only to the white knights here and keep going down this path, and then be surprised when the executives call them into the office for that meeting?

Toanis · October 15

Show me the results

Destai wrote: »

Let's say there's two definitions of "dead".
One is technically dead - like Wildstar. Fully shutdown, no longer in existence.

One is culturally dead. The playerbase has reached its nadir, the game has fully accommodated that nadir with aggressive monetization and no major content releases. Aion is an example.

Vocal hardcore MMOers vs. whales, only one side puts their money where their mouth is.

While Aion gets an update with new zones and even a new class a couple of months before Aion 2 is released, Wildstar killed WoW so hard that it died from sheer exhaustion. I'd say ESO is in a pretty safe spot between those two.

MorallyBipolar · October 15

Less than 2 years

ZOS has already killed PvP for the most part with 2 team BG's and mandated weeks of vengeance.

Gabriel_H · October 15

Oh look, someone necro'd a thread from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

MorallyBipolar · October 15

Less than 2 years

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Oh look, someone necro'd a thread from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

This time is different. Anyone who's paying attention sees that. Have you not noticed the massive decline in content released? Did you not hear about all the cut backs and layoffs at ZOS? Seems MS sees the writing on the wall too.

Gabriel_H · October 15

MorallyBipolar wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Oh look, someone necro'd a thread from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

This time is different. Anyone who's paying attention sees that. Have you not noticed the massive decline in content released? Did you not hear about all the cut backs and layoffs at ZOS? Seems MS sees the writing on the wall too.

The content is inline with previous chapters. There is some argument around "paying for it twice" as the dungeons are available in ESO plus, but that's about it.

The layoffs at ZOS were nothing to do with ESO. ZOS had taken on new employees to work on their next MMO, which MS sheleved.

MorallyBipolar · October 15

Less than 2 years

Gabriel_H wrote: »

MorallyBipolar wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Oh look, someone necro'd a thread from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

This time is different. Anyone who's paying attention sees that. Have you not noticed the massive decline in content released? Did you not hear about all the cut backs and layoffs at ZOS? Seems MS sees the writing on the wall too.

The content is inline with previous chapters. There is some argument around "paying for it twice" as the dungeons are available in ESO plus, but that's about it.

The layoffs at ZOS were nothing to do with ESO. ZOS had taken on new employees to work on their next MMO, which MS sheleved.

Um, sorry, but no, the content release schedule this year it totally different than previous years. And the schedule for next year is also totally different than every year up to 2025. A content pass is not the same as an annual chapter release in any way.

As far as layoffs not effecting ESO? Apparently you missed the news release that Matt Fior, the leading game designer and creator since day one has also left ZOS. So it's not rational to claim that the layoffs didn't impact ESO.

tomofhyrule · October 15

Gabriel_H wrote: »

MorallyBipolar wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Oh look, someone necro'd a thread from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

This time is different. Anyone who's paying attention sees that. Have you not noticed the massive decline in content released? Did you not hear about all the cut backs and layoffs at ZOS? Seems MS sees the writing on the wall too.

The content is inline with previous chapters. There is some argument around "paying for it twice" as the dungeons are available in ESO plus, but that's about it.

The layoffs at ZOS were nothing to do with ESO. ZOS had taken on new employees to work on their next MMO, which MS sheleved.

Oh, it is? Great, where are the two new Companions? New Tribute deck? You know, because that’s what previous Chapters had *in addition* to a large Zone with delves and PubDuns and several World Events.

And let’s not forget the difference between “here’s a brand new Class to play with!” and “lol just take all of the existing skills and throw them in a blender because we don’t want to make new stuff. Balance? What’s that?”

Radiate77 · October 15

Less than 2 years

Going only off of what we got these past few years, content-wise…

-Necrom had no Q4 zone but Apocrypha made the Expansion feel bigger.

-Gold Road launched with an only one zone, and again no Q4 zone later that year.

-2025 Content Pass brought us a zone even smaller than the prior two years but with reused assets and still no Q4 zone upcoming.

They are clearly downsizing, giving the impression that they are shuttering the game.

fizzybeef · October 15

Less than 2 years

Considering how low the population is nowadays, on console less then a year on pc less then two

The Elder Scrolls Online

With the ways things are currently going how long do you think eso has left?

With the ways things are currently going how long do you think eso has left? 94 votes