I don't understand the hype for upcoming ESO changes, I think the game will lose it's meaning.

Raimondo111 · January 10

So I previosly posted this in one of the threads but it went totaly ignored so I've decided to make a new one out of it. It's about the new ESO's approach to content and how I don't understand why people are so hyped for it as in my opinion is the absolute opposite of what I love this game for. I'm sorry guys but I don't see it. Maybe there is something I don't understand so pls explain it to me (and by all means I'm not sarcastic rn). A lot of people are quite optimistic for all of it and seem to genuinely be happy with this announcement. But the way I see it right now is... no new zone, no new big chunk of story, no new corner of Tamriel to explore, probably very little lore to uncover. From my point of view what I saw today was just patch notes with some extra steps and Darkmoon Faire + (if you don't know, it's from World of Warcraft). I've played ESO since launch and my favorite thing about the game is the scale of the world, ability to visit every province of Tamriel. And for me the perfect time was since the launch of Orsinium till Blackwood. And I felt like a child with a new toy each time I've laid my hands on a new Chapter or DLC. Then there were a little bit of something I've felt like fillers than actual content. (Don't get me wrong, I was still having a lot of fun with Legacy of the Bretons but it also had some vibes of burnout in worldbuilding). Then I regained hope with Gold Road, Oblivion was my favorite childhood game and as a lorefan as well I just adore everything that is in Cyrodil. And then again from an ecstasy all the way to the bottom with Season of the Worm Cult. That was the first time I haven't bought an ESO Chapter / DLC. (Gold Road was my last purchase). When I saw this Summerset add-on (as I like call it) with some reused lore of The Worm Cult I was disgusted, and from what I've heard that was some pretty good idea to abandon that ship at the time. Then I thought "Hey, maybe Zenimax just needs a year of easy to make filler content to make some good piece of an expansion every second year" so I've waited for today, crossing my fingers for some next great adventure in tamriel. I was hoping for Hammerfell as it was so little of it covered so far, or even wouldn't mind visiting central Skyrim one more time. And what I was given is... well I've already written above how I see these new announcements. Again, if I'm not seeing something please tell me what I'm missing and explain why do people seem hyped for what's coming.

Soarora · January 10

ZOS has been continuously losing goodwill from the playerbase. From laughing at PvPers, to not fixing balance issues that players bring up, spreadsheet balancing, and multiple years of poor writing. The ship was sinking. The reveal promised us a lot of exciting things but most importantly, experimental additions. ZOS getting experimental means the staleness of the game (every class is similar, every day is similar, every event is similar, every DLC is similar except for the incursions) could be resolved.

But also, the change in leadership presents the perfect opportunity for another chance at engaging with the community. It’s clear that ZOS isn’t lying when they said that the chapter system was like a train that couldn’t stop, making it hard to make changes and rushing their staff. By slowing down and showing an effort to be more communicative, there’s cautious hope that there will finally be a dialogue between ZOS and the playerbase. And who knows, maybe with more time to cook, we’ll get better writing. We’ll have to see if they pull it off.

Desiato · January 10

Soarora wrote: »

It’s clear that ZOS isn’t lying when they said that the chapter system was like a train that couldn’t stop, making it hard to make changes and rushing their staff. By slowing down and showing an effort to be more communicative, there’s cautious hope that there will finally be a dialogue between ZOS and the playerbase. And who knows, maybe with more time to cook, we’ll get better writing. We’ll have to see if they pull it off.

When ZOS says stuff like this, it's spin to take the spotlight away from the fact Chapters stopped being profitable. If they could have kept that cash cow going, they obviously would have.

It's all spin. They're trying to protect their revenue while delivering less to players because they have fewer resources.

The hype comes from their most ardent fans. ZOS has made the mistake of soliciting feedback from those who haven't quit instead of the majority who did. So we're going to have a game of rebranded Arcanists and Golden Pursuits in addition to the occasional new zone built with previously developed art assets.

DenverRalphy · January 10

Raimondo111 wrote: »

So I previosly posted this in one of the threads but it went totaly ignored so I've decided to make a new one out of it.<snip>

Just sayin..

[edit] Pleaes take this as the tongue-in-cheek humor for which I intended. I truly mean no insult.

Soarora · January 10

Desiato wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

It’s clear that ZOS isn’t lying when they said that the chapter system was like a train that couldn’t stop, making it hard to make changes and rushing their staff. By slowing down and showing an effort to be more communicative, there’s cautious hope that there will finally be a dialogue between ZOS and the playerbase. And who knows, maybe with more time to cook, we’ll get better writing. We’ll have to see if they pull it off.

When ZOS says stuff like this, it's spin to take the spotlight away from the fact Chapters stopped being profitable. If they could have kept that cash cow going, they obviously would have.

It's all spin. They're trying to protect their revenue while delivering less to players because they have fewer resources.

The hype comes from their most ardent fans. ZOS has made the mistake of soliciting feedback from those who haven't quit instead of the majority who did. So we're going to have a game of rebranded Arcanists and Golden Pursuits in addition to the occasional new zone build with previously developed art assets.

Yes, I know it’s all marketing, but I don’t think they’re lying. The quality they were pumping out wasn’t as good as it should have been and logically if you walk through each of the quarters, the teams would have been working on projects back-to-back.

I sent the DK changes to some friends (who were DK mains) who have quit and they seemed incredibly hyped, so…

Me, personally, I’m just glad they’re trying anything at all instead of bullheadedly pushing through with a failing system. I have hope after years of displeasure and wanting to quit, but I’m prepared to be disappointed.

Edit: adding on, I really would rather them deliver less but listen more. We’ve been spoiled by constant updates. Other games don’t do that. Less doesn’t always mean less, less can mean more time spent on quality over quantity. This also affects my main content (dungeons, which we went from 4 a year, to 2, to 4 last year, to 0 this year), so I understand the growing pains.

Desiato · January 10

Soarora wrote: »

Yes, I know it’s all marketing, but I don’t think they’re lying. The quality they were pumping out wasn’t as good as it should have been and logically if you walk through each of the quarters, the teams would have been working on projects back-to-back.

It's EXACTLY what they said last year when announcing the 2025 content pass, and we saw how it came to pass with the wall event turning into a debacle most players didn't even bother to attend.

Edit: adding on, I really would rather them deliver less but listen more. We’ve been spoiled by constant updates. Other games don’t do that. Less doesn’t always mean less, less can mean more time spent on quality over quantity. This also affects my main content (dungeons, which we went from 4 a year, to 2, to 4 last year, to 0 this year), so I understand the growing pains.

I don't think we've been spoiled at all. The chapters were very expensive expansion packs that they sold for as long as they possibly could in addition to a sub, a cash store and crates! If anything, it is ZOS who was spoiled by the golden egg that is the Elder Scrolls IP and the good will and enthusiasm of its fans.

I think to a large degree, ESO is a victim of its success, resulting in an inefficient back end with too much administrative and technical overhead compared to more agile studios.

Soarora · January 10

Desiato wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

Yes, I know it’s all marketing, but I don’t think they’re lying. The quality they were pumping out wasn’t as good as it should have been and logically if you walk through each of the quarters, the teams would have been working on projects back-to-back.

It's EXACTLY what they said last year when announcing the 2025 content pass, and we saw how it came to pass with the wall event turning into a debacle most players didn't even bother to attend.

Edit: adding on, I really would rather them deliver less but listen more. We’ve been spoiled by constant updates. Other games don’t do that. Less doesn’t always mean less, less can mean more time spent on quality over quantity. This also affects my main content (dungeons, which we went from 4 a year, to 2, to 4 last year, to 0 this year), so I understand the growing pains.

I don't think we've been spoiled at all. The chapters were very expensive expansion packs that they sold for as long as they possibly could in addition to a sub, a cash store and crates! If anything, it is ZOS who was spoiled by the golden egg that is the Elder Scrolls IP and the good will and enthusiasm of its fans.

I think to a large degree, ESO is a victim of its success, resulting in an inefficient back end with too much administrative and technical overhead compared to more agile studios.

They said 2025 was a transition year. It wasn’t a transition into what we got in 2025, it was a transition into what we’re getting in 2026. What we got in 2025 was also influenced by 2024.

Very expensive expansion packs that weren’t really worth how expensive they were even in their prime. The overall price of the game really needs dropped down (looking at you, 70 dollar houses), even if that means increasing the base price for new purchasers.

robwolf666 · January 10

The point of the game is Elder Scrolls. The more they lean into that, the happier Elder Scrolls fans will be.
Now, I might be way off the mark, but trying to attract more ES fans into ESO is only a good thing. We're very loyal fans of the series, and generally speaking, once we're here, we stay.
MMO fans... if they get bored, will just move on to the next "big" thing.
Now, which base would be more attractive to ZoS?

FullMax · January 10

Raimondo111 wrote: »

So I previosly posted this in one of the threads but it went totaly ignored so I've decided to make a new one out of it. It's about the new ESO's approach to content and how I don't understand why people are so hyped for it as in my opinion is the absolute opposite of what I love this game for. I'm sorry guys but I don't see it. Maybe there is something I don't understand so pls explain it to me (and by all means I'm not sarcastic rn). A lot of people are quite optimistic for all of it and seem to genuinely be happy with this announcement. But the way I see it right now is... no new zone, no new big chunk of story, no new corner of Tamriel to explore, probably very little lore to uncover. From my point of view what I saw today was just patch notes with some extra steps and Darkmoon Faire + (if you don't know, it's from World of Warcraft). I've played ESO since launch and my favorite thing about the game is the scale of the world, ability to visit every province of Tamriel. And for me the perfect time was since the launch of Orsinium till Blackwood. And I felt like a child with a new toy each time I've laid my hands on a new Chapter or DLC. Then there were a little bit of something I've felt like fillers than actual content. (Don't get me wrong, I was still having a lot of fun with Legacy of the Bretons but it also had some vibes of burnout in worldbuilding). Then I regained hope with Gold Road, Oblivion was my favorite childhood game and as a lorefan as well I just adore everything that is in Cyrodil. And then again from an ecstasy all the way to the bottom with Season of the Worm Cult. That was the first time I haven't bought an ESO Chapter / DLC. (Gold Road was my last purchase). When I saw this Summerset add-on (as I like call it) with some reused lore of The Worm Cult I was disgusted, and from what I've heard that was some pretty good idea to abandon that ship at the time. Then I thought "Hey, maybe Zenimax just needs a year of easy to make filler content to make some good piece of an expansion every second year" so I've waited for today, crossing my fingers for some next great adventure in tamriel. I was hoping for Hammerfell as it was so little of it covered so far, or even wouldn't mind visiting central Skyrim one more time. And what I was given is... well I've already written above how I see these new announcements. Again, if I'm not seeing something please tell me what I'm missing and explain why do people seem hyped for what's coming.

They said on the stream that the second season will introduce a new storyline about the Thieves Guild and Sheogorath... So there you have it.

The game won't lose its purpose. The developers can only do one thing: either a new, large-scale location or improve the base game. For now, they've decided to improve the base game. New locations will still be coming, so there's no need to rush things.

Soarora · January 10

robwolf666 wrote: »

The point of the game is Elder Scrolls. The more they lean into that, the happier Elder Scrolls fans will be.
Now, I might be way off the mark, but trying to attract more ES fans into ESO is only a good thing. We're very loyal fans of the series, and generally speaking, once we're here, we stay.
MMO fans... if they get bored, will just move on to the next "big" thing.
Now, which base would be more attractive to ZoS?

The opposite can also be said. There’s a substantial group of people who are here only because TES6 hasn’t come out yet. Will they come back?

Meanwhile, there’s no fantastic MMOs out there right now. I’m friends with an “MMO fan” who has tried almost every MMO and ESO is the closest to what they’re looking for. When Lost Ark launched for Western gamers, a lot of people moved there… including me… briefly. Everyone I know who moved to Lost Ark moved back to ESO.

Besides, MMO and Elder Scrolls enjoyers really aren’t mutually exclusive. I wouldn’t have joined if it wasn’t elder scrolls as I am an elder scrolls player… but because I’ve played ESO, I’m interested in other MMOs. I play GW2 occasionally. Only reason I don’t play it more is the inventory management. If they fix that, then, well, even as an elder scrolls player, I’d spend less time in ESO for GW2.

Much like PvP vs PvE vs Casual, I don’t think it’s effective to pit MMO and Elder Scrolls players against each other. We’re all in this together, and we can all be friends.

Markytous · January 10

Desiato wrote: »

It's all spin. They're trying to protect their revenue while delivering less to players because they have fewer resources.

My friend, with all due respect, if the chapters format was no longer profitable (and for good reason - empty zones with FOMO overpowered mythics to string along metachasers ain't stable), I am exceedingly happy that they have done the logical thing and tried something new. New leadership and new philosophy on the backend has motivated the team to enrich the base game package (and to continue to expand it) to encourage new players to join in! Legacy/vaulted cosmetics coming back for all to earn is a huge win for players who weren't around to experience those events/offerings. Solstice has shown us that zone drops with the usual non-BIS sets and FOMO mythics is stale content and a better system is sorely needed. Playing the game should be rewarding and running dungeons for sets that don't come close to effective compared to what is already in the game (False God, Rallying Cry, etc. in their respective environments).

Also, with a change to their annual monetization, they are no longer restricted to working on adding these empty zones with FOMO mythics and can actually take an active role in tuning/fixing existing systems that are in dire need or repair/attention (Cyrodiil's map hasn't had a change since 2018). Spin or not, the pivot is for the better to MOST players. We're getting more base game than ever before. This helps everyone more than everyone realizes. Higher population game = healthier game. Trust.

Gabriel_H · January 10

Flawed premise. You are presuming it ever had a meaning. ESO's biggest problem has always been it doesn't know what it wants to be.

That is not to say it can't be all things to all people, but that hasn't been the design philosophy, so even when they have attempted that they have missed the mark. The philosophy kept shifting: A TES game, an MMO, a traditional MMO, a new type of MMO.

If the want ESO to be all things to all people, that's fine, if they can pull it off, but they need that to be the design philosophy if that is what they are going for.

Syldras · January 10

Soarora wrote: »

There’s a substantial group of people who are here only because TES6 hasn’t come out yet. Will they come back?

If ESO provides interesting TES lore and stories typical for the series, why would they not? TES6 will most likely be set in the future, taking place after Skyrim, so Nirn is in a completely different state compared to the 2nd era. Also, like any other of the TES singleplayer games, TES6 will have an end. There's only a certain number of times you'd want to repeat that limited number of quests until you look for something else, even with mods existing.

Morvan · January 10

They already talked about Winterhold, you'll still get new zones, you'll still get your lore, it will just not be released early this year, things won't go out on the usual schedule, and that is a good thing, they're trying to do things different by design.

I am hyped because the new leadership is clearly way more transparent, more worried to properly communicate, and is actually invested on listening to feedback and giving us what we want, they're giving us a chunk of things we've been asking for YEARS and were completely ignored by the previous leadership.

We might not get zones and quests on the same scale we're used to for a while, maybe for this whole year, but it's all very worth it since they are revisiting so many aspects of the game that have gotten old, classes, skill lines, werewolves, systems and formats that they rushed in the past, it's just too much to even list it here, those are all going to be revamped.

This is all going to take effort and time on their part, we're not getting less, we're just getting something different, I'm really glad they're looking back and improving the game instead of rushing to sell us the next new thing.

soelslaev · January 10

Desiato wrote: »

...resulting in an inefficient back end with too much administrative and technical overhead compared to more agile studios.

I am having so much trouble understanding this part.

What do you mean by "back end"? I know what I would mean by 'back end' in the context of an information technology service, but I see no indication you meant the thing that I know about, so what are you talking about here?

About efficiency. Only company owners care about that. You are a customer. You care about effectiveness not efficiency. You want a good product that delivers what you want. You do not care if the profit margins are thin for company owners. You do not care if it costs 10¢ to make and run ESO for every $1 of profit or 75¢ for every $1 of profit.

Also, regarding "technical overhead", I cannot image what you mean because that is almost an oxymoron. The product created and run by the technology is exactly the product you are paying for. There is no such thing as "technical overhead" in this context. If you are baking bread, then the cost of flour and heating an oven is not overhead but production cost. Overhead would be if they rented expensive office space or cheap office space.

Also, this might just be an accident on your part, but "agile" as an adjective in software development is overloaded. So I again ask what you meant by this? What, specifically, did ZoS not do that some other studio was capable of?

Soarora · January 10

Syldras wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

There’s a substantial group of people who are here only because TES6 hasn’t come out yet. Will they come back?

If ESO provides interesting TES lore and stories typical for the series, why would they not? TES6 will most likely be set in the future, taking place after Skyrim, so Nirn is in a completely different state compared to the 2nd era. Also, like any other of the TES singleplayer games, TES6 will have an end. There's only a certain number of times you'd want to repeat that limited number of quests until you look for something else, even with mods existing.

I don’t know, I’m not one of the people who are only here because TES6 isn’t out yet nor do I personally know anyone who is of that group. Flipside argument can be made for MMO players too, there’s no other MMO that provides exactly what ESO does, even if you ignore all the lore, so it can’t be assumed that an MMO player who leaves ESO for another MMO won’t come back. Just like how someone might take a break to play TES6 then come back to ESO.

I really think the ship has sailed on “ESO should focus more on TES” because an MMO with a purely TES base I think would have an entirely different class system. ESO is an elder scrolls themed MMO, it will always be both. It should always cater to both. No, both groups won’t always be happy, but the game is for both groups… and everyone whose in both groups.

tomofhyrule · January 10

soelslaev wrote: »

About efficiency. Only company owners care about that. You are a customer. You care about effectiveness not efficiency. You want a good product that delivers what you want. You do not care if the profit margins are thin for company owners. You do not care if it costs 10¢ to make and run ESO for every $1 of profit or 75¢ for every $1 of profit.

I mean... there is a point we should care a bit about profit margin, even as consumers. After all, ask the players of New World how they think that game is doing right now.

Microsoft has made it clear that they expect their subsidiaries to have a 30% profit margin (which is very high). If a property is not meeting that profit margin, then Microsoft will be cutting it. That's not a hypothetical.

So unless ESO can get a 30% profit margin (which, considering them moving to make more and more stuff free means that that profit needs to come from somewhere, so be prepared to get purchaseable cosmetics shoved in your face), it's going to get canned. And remember: when ESO gets canned, it's not going to be something that we can all log back into 3 years from now and just not have any updates, it's going to be deleted from the internet, and all of your characters and stories and the money you spent on it will be gone forever.

Desiato · January 10

soelslaev wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

...resulting in an inefficient back end with too much administrative and technical overhead compared to more agile studios.

I am having so much trouble understanding this part.

What do you mean by "back end"? I know what I would mean by 'back end' in the context of an information technology service, but I see no indication you meant the thing that I know about, so what are you talking about here?

Try googling "back end administration". It is a general term and does not only apply to IT. It is normal for successful companies to become less efficient over time because it's easy to throw around promotions, add to teams and build technical/complexity debt by aggressively rolling out new features which require some level of ongoing maintenance.

I am theorizing this could be the case with ESO because to me, the value proposition is EXTREMELY poor. So poor that I wonder if they are charging so much because they have overhead that is too high.

Also, this might just be an accident on your part, but "agile" as an adjective in software development is overloaded. So I again ask what you meant by this? What, specifically, did ZoS not do that some other studio was capable of?

Well, they themselves have described long development processes of 18 months (for expansion packs!) which is more reflective of 2000s-era game development. While many older studios still operate like this, the industry is continuously disrupted by leaner, younger and very talented new studios that emerge.

rothan117 · January 10

I don't know how many others are like me, but if there is not new content that includes lore, exploration and quests, then all the class updates and other similar things mean nothing. I have to have content I am interested in playing first and foremost. Thieves guild is probably the expansion I disliked the most and I have not particularly enjoyed the previous Sheogorath quests either. What I have enjoyed was the Elswyer arc and the Summerset arc.

Limited time events with no significant lore, questing, exploration or back story do not hold my interest for long at all. I see them setting the limited time events as returning every so often just like the seasonal events now and eventually there will be no additional story content, just rotating easy to create limited time events.

I would be happy to be wrong but I am getting a definite sense that there has been a major alteration to the business model and it is not conducive to significant new story content being added.

SummersetCitizen · January 10

FullMax wrote: »

The developers can only do one thing: either a new, large-scale location or improve the base game. For now, they've decided to improve the base game. New locations will still be coming, so there's no need to rush things.

This is a false choice. Improving the base game and delivering new locations are not mutually exclusive. Framing it this way only highlights ZOS’s limitations or priorities, not an unavoidable reality.

At this point, the decisions feel driven more by revenue and risk management than by strong stewardship of the Elder Scrolls IP.

When players eventually peel away to ES6, some will do so gladly… not just for a new game, but to escape ZOS and its endless navel-gazing.

Elvenheart · January 10

tomofhyrule wrote: »

soelslaev wrote: »

About efficiency. Only company owners care about that. You are a customer. You care about effectiveness not efficiency. You want a good product that delivers what you want. You do not care if the profit margins are thin for company owners. You do not care if it costs 10¢ to make and run ESO for every $1 of profit or 75¢ for every $1 of profit.

I mean... there is a point we should care a bit about profit margin, even as consumers. After all, ask the players of New World how they think that game is doing right now.

Microsoft has made it clear that they expect their subsidiaries to have a 30% profit margin (which is very high). If a property is not meeting that profit margin, then Microsoft will be cutting it. That's not a hypothetical.

So unless ESO can get a 30% profit margin (which, considering them moving to make more and more stuff free means that that profit needs to come from somewhere, so be prepared to get purchaseable cosmetics shoved in your face), it's going to get canned. And remember: when ESO gets canned, it's not going to be something that we can all log back into 3 years from now and just not have any updates, it's going to be deleted from the internet, and all of your characters and stories and the money you spent on it will be gone forever.

😱😭😩 I guess I know what this week’s topic with my therapist will be! 😖😞😨

Gabriel_H · January 11

Desiato wrote: »

I am theorizing this could be the case with ESO because to me, the value proposition is EXTREMELY poor. So poor that I wonder if they are charging so much because they have overhead that is too high.

They are charging at the current market rate. Expansions are typically $40 - $50 with 30 - 40 hours of gameplay. in the industry.

This year you either get to play for free and have non-permanent tomes, or pay and have permanent tomes (with some shiny baubles) that will set you back $60 without ESO+ or $45 with ESO+ and also get extra shiny baubles (basically what we got with Chapters). There is then an additional new pricing tier of premium+ which is also pretty standard these days and comes with extra baubles.

In terms of comparison to before the cost has not changed, the question is will we still get that amount of gameplay and only time will tell with that.

licenturion · January 11

As has been the case the past year with subclassing and vengeance:

- half of the community seem to extremely like it
- the other half seem to extremely dislike it

Same applies here. They always manage a 50/50 like ratio for everything they do. And in the end it doesn't seem to move the needle usually because they cater to 2 totally opposite crowds.

We will see if the half that does seem to like it spends lots of money on cosmetic battlepasses. Otherwise the new strategy would be seen as a failure for ZOS.

I won't spend a cent anymore unless there are new zones/new classes/new companions. So this year I will use up precious server space and bandwidth when there is a free drip feed drop , but they won't get money anymore from me going forward if there isn't anything shiny and big added to the game.

BardokRedSnow · January 11

Soarora wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

It’s clear that ZOS isn’t lying when they said that the chapter system was like a train that couldn’t stop, making it hard to make changes and rushing their staff. By slowing down and showing an effort to be more communicative, there’s cautious hope that there will finally be a dialogue between ZOS and the playerbase. And who knows, maybe with more time to cook, we’ll get better writing. We’ll have to see if they pull it off.

When ZOS says stuff like this, it's spin to take the spotlight away from the fact Chapters stopped being profitable. If they could have kept that cash cow going, they obviously would have.

It's all spin. They're trying to protect their revenue while delivering less to players because they have fewer resources.

The hype comes from their most ardent fans. ZOS has made the mistake of soliciting feedback from those who haven't quit instead of the majority who did. So we're going to have a game of rebranded Arcanists and Golden Pursuits in addition to the occasional new zone build with previously developed art assets.

Yes, I know it’s all marketing, but I don’t think they’re lying. The quality they were pumping out wasn’t as good as it should have been and logically if you walk through each of the quarters, the teams would have been working on projects back-to-back.

I sent the DK changes to some friends (who were DK mains) who have quit and they seemed incredibly hyped, so…

Me, personally, I’m just glad they’re trying anything at all instead of bullheadedly pushing through with a failing system. I have hope after years of displeasure and wanting to quit, but I’m prepared to be disappointed.

Edit: adding on, I really would rather them deliver less but listen more. We’ve been spoiled by constant updates. Other games don’t do that. Less doesn’t always mean less, less can mean more time spent on quality over quantity. This also affects my main content (dungeons, which we went from 4 a year, to 2, to 4 last year, to 0 this year), so I understand the growing pains.

It takes a lot to admit when you messed up, especially a company and especially Zos. And moreover they finally listened to fans. Whether people have quit or stayed the concerns were pretty consistent between both. People who stayed are not any less jaded than those who haven’t, they like myself probably have stayed because of friends or nostalgia etc. Hope that the game will get better, attachment, whatever the case. Plus, just because they log in doesn’t mean they’re spending money.

And certainly not to the levels they used to.

As a DK main I’m beyond excited, the news about the class refreshes and balancing to subclassing was a dream come true, so I’m gonna give them a chance and see how it turns out for sure.

BardokRedSnow · January 11

licenturion wrote: »

As has been the case the past year with subclassing and vengeance:

- half of the community seem to extremely like it
- the other half seem to extremely dislike it

Same applies here. They always manage a 50/50 like ratio for everything they do. And in the end it doesn't seem to move the needle usually because they cater to 2 totally opposite crowds.

We will see if the half that does seem to like it spends lots of money on cosmetic battlepasses. Otherwise the new strategy would be seen as a failure for ZOS.

I won't spend a cent anymore unless there are new zones/new classes/new companions. So this year I will use up precious server space and bandwidth when there is a free drip feed drop , but they won't get money anymore from me going forward if there isn't anything shiny and big added to the game.

Bruv they’re making new zones dungeons etc free

I get this mindset to an extent, but you can’t complain if the new new new they add sucks sucks sucks because yall keep demanding more

Castagere · January 11

I think they have been coasting on the name Elder Scrolls for a long time. That was the big draw, and they used that. This change is so sad and lazy. And because of the name, they can get away with it. I am not surprised that the hype is real. Not knocking the players that like this. I'm a big Star Trek fan and was hyped for Star Trek Online. That game has an older fan base of Trek fans, and they have nowhere to go for a Trek game. All they do is sell ships for 30 dollars each or in 100-dollar bundles. and handicap the market, so you spend more money. And lockboxes drop everywhere. They used to offer ways to get every ship in-game. Not anymore. ESO is on the way to doing the same thing because of the name.

Dimorphos · January 11

There are great many things coming including much what has been long desired by the community.

Yes there is no new zone or zone story for the year 2026 but you can't have it all at once. There is quite a lot of work with all that was announced in the road map. I am 95% sure that we will get new zone and story and new dungeons and new trial and perhaps much more in 2027.

They decided that now is the time for other things and we can only hope they will execute it all perfectly. It is too early to criticize before we get to experience it all.

Way too many people seem to dislike it all just because they decided so without even trying. How about we wait till summer at least and then we can say if we liked it so far or not.

moderatelyfatman · January 11

I think 2026 is the last roll of the dice.
If these changes don't turn things around, I suspect ESO will go the way of New World in 2027.

Lucasl402 · January 11

SummersetCitizen wrote: »

FullMax wrote: »

The developers can only do one thing: either a new, large-scale location or improve the base game. For now, they've decided to improve the base game. New locations will still be coming, so there's no need to rush things.

This is a false choice. Improving the base game and delivering new locations are not mutually exclusive. Framing it this way only highlights ZOS’s limitations or priorities, not an unavoidable reality.

At this point, the decisions feel driven more by revenue and risk management than by strong stewardship of the Elder Scrolls IP.

When players eventually peel away to ES6, some will do so gladly… not just for a new game, but to escape ZOS and its endless navel-gazing.

Exactly. It shouldn't have to be one or the other. Limiting to one or the other is a management choice.

But the problem with ES6 is that it will still be a ZOS game. ...if it's ever created.

SummersetCitizen · January 11

Lucasl402 wrote: »

But the problem with ES6 is that it will still be a ZOS game. ...if it's ever created.

The Elder Scrolls VI is being developed by Bethesda Game Studios, not ZeniMax Online Studios.

ZOS is a separate entity under that umbrella. They are tasked with developing/managing the live service game.

My hope is that they have very little to do with the ES6 game.

Lucasl402 · January 11

SummersetCitizen wrote: »

Lucasl402 wrote: »

But the problem with ES6 is that it will still be a ZOS game. ...if it's ever created.

The Elder Scrolls VI is being developed by Bethesda Game Studios, not ZeniMax Online Studios.

ZOS is a separate entity under that umbrella. They are tasked with developing/managing the live service game.

My hope is that they have very little to do with the ES6 game.

My understanding is that ZOS is Bethesda's parent company. Everything Bethesda creates is a ZOS product. And Microsoft owns them both now as they purchased ZOS a couple or so years back.