After Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda and Zenimax, the community is discussing the impact on the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online. What does the future hold for ESO on its platforms PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia? We share the hopes of the players.
What actually happened? Yesterday, on September 22, Microsoft announced that they have acquired Bethesda and Zenimax for a total of $7.5 billion. This includes 2,300 employees and various game franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom. The associated games are also set to become part of the Xbox Game Pass — Fallout 76 is already included.
What does this mean for ESO on PS4? First of all, it should be noted that current ESO players have no restrictions to fear. According to developer Matt Firor from Zenimax Online, all existing platforms will continue to be supported (via Twitter).
This means that the PS4 will still be involved, even though the rights lie with Microsoft. The community views this acquisition with mixed feelings of fear but primarily hope.
More money for more opportunities
First of all, players hope that ESO will continue as it has been, just better. Few fear that Microsoft will impose its stamp on the game; rather, they see it as an opportunity. With a larger budget and additional resource sharing, more opportunities could be opened for the game:
As I see it, it seems like Microsoft is saying: “Keep doing what you’re doing and what you want, but here is more money.”
Detjohnnysandwiches via reddit
The players’ hope also lies with the servers. ESO has long struggled with stability issues. Players believe that with a bigger budget, this could soon be a thing of the past:
This (the acquisition) is great news. (We need) focus on improvements like server stability.
KinokoFuton via reddit
Crossplay for all platforms
A long-awaited feature for ESO players is crossplay, meaning the ability to play together across all potential platforms. So far, this is only possible for Stadia and PC. While this already represented a big innovation, players wish for it to be expanded.
The current situation and the timing provided by the Microsoft acquisition is seen as the perfect opportunity. One user commented on the colleagues from GamePro:
What about the long-overdue (but unfortunately never announced) crossplay feature? Now or never…
just_edu via GamePro
And the matter of crossplay doesn’t seem so unlikely. Especially in light of Microsoft’s acquisition of Minecraft. There is now a crossplay function for all platforms. So there remains hope that this feature could also come for ESO. Xbox and PC would already be a start and likely.
ESO’s item shop will be fairer
Some players wish for a fairer item shop. Currently, many cool pets and mounts are only accessible through loot boxes and at a high cost – much to the players’ displeasure:
I hope so much for this. I only recently returned (to ESO) and saw that mounts and pets that I WOULD LOVE to have are locked behind loot boxes.
SkidOrange via reddit
What are the loot boxes in ESO? In ESO, new “Crown Crates” are regularly available in the Crown Store. These hide loot boxes that usually contain cosmetic items like pets, mounts, or costumes. There are consumables as well, but nothing game-changing.
You spend real money and play a little lottery, as the contents are random among the set items. If you have a few crowns left over from ESO+, it might be worth trying your luck with one of the crates.
Looking at Microsoft’s loot box policies (via xbox.com), changes in this regard may be coming soon. Their politics regarding loot boxes are more transparent and differ somewhat from those in ESO:
- Players always receive a fair value. Players therefore receive a fair minimum value for all loot box purchases.
- Virtual items in loot boxes can always also be earned through gameplay. The items are also obtainable in-game if players put in a certain grind.
- Contents probability is disclosed. You know in advance the probability of which items are included. You can currently find this information through external sites (via crowncrates).
However, not all players believe this; many are still cautious with their hopes as such a company philosophy may not necessarily apply to the acquired studios:
A change for the better (regarding the loot boxes) would be nice, but I’d rather not get my hopes up too much.
rockjar via reddit
Not only hope, but also concern
This healthy skepticism relates not only to the item shop. The possibility of potential exclusive titles from Microsoft concerns especially the PS4 players:
Please tell me that I can still play The Elder Scrolls 6 on a PlayStation…
Kallasilya via reddit
This fear comes, among other things, from a statement by Matt Firor. He mentioned “currently supported” (via Twitter), referring to games that are currently supported. This does not include ESO or The Elder Scrolls 6 on PS5.
ESO was already announced for PS5 before the acquisition, so it will likely still be released. Overall, Microsoft shows little strategy towards exclusives. The Xbox chief, however, does not want to commit to future titles. It is a case-by-case decision, which does not ultimately alleviate players’ concerns.
