Zenimax CEO Matt Firor recently spoke about the success of The Elder Scrolls Online. Although the MMORPG is based on a strong brand and is among the most successful service titles of the past decade, hardly anyone talks about the Tamriel adventure.
How successful is The Elder Scrolls Online?
- Since its launch in April 2024, the world of Elder Scrolls Online has welcomed more than 24 million players (via Youtube). It is unclear whether only the buyers of the MMORPG or also the participants of the regular free play events are counted.
- While there were MMORPGs available on consoles before, it was only the release of ESO on PlayStation and Xbox in June 2015 that brought the genre into the living rooms. A few years ago, the developers told the author of these lines that there was likely no larger MMORPG on consoles.
- In April, Zenimax CEO Matt Firor stated that Elder Scrolls Online is said to have generated more than 2 billion US dollars in revenue so far.
With Gold Road, Elder Scrolls Online opens a new chapter in June:
What did Matt Firor have to say now? In an interview with Gamesradar, the studio head explained that he spoke about ESO’s revenues in April to highlight the ongoing success of the game.
In his perception, Elder Scrolls Online is mentioned far too rarely when it comes to successful service games and MMORPGs.
“But that is exactly the case, on pretty much every level,” Firor complains. “I think this number [Note from the editor: the two billion US dollars in revenue] shows the excitement of the players for ESO and also Zenimax’s enthusiasm. It is very successful, and we love working on it.”
Great success, but no hype – why is that?
Those participating in our current survey, where the MeinMMO community votes for the best MMORPG of all time, will see what Matt Firor means. While World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV clearly dominate the field, Elder Scrolls Online (currently in 4th place) is battling Guild Wars 2 for the third place on the podium.
At first glance, this is a solid result. However, considering that celebrations for the 10th anniversary are currently taking place in Tamriel and that the start of the Gold Road chapter is approaching (while relatively little has happened in Guild Wars 2 in recent years), the situation looks different.
What reasons does our MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz see for the low hype surrounding ESO? I have been enjoying and regularly playing Elder Scrolls Online since the beta, primarily due to the Elder Scrolls license, the fantastic game world, and the entertaining quests and stories. It’s like a single-player RPG, with the option for co-op fun with my wife and friends.
However, I have always found the MMO part of ESO quite weak. There have been hardly any memorable social experiences in the past ten years. The dungeons and raids are much more enjoyable for me in WoW and FFXIV. And I have never really warmed up to the PvP either.
Accordingly, I can understand that many players occasionally visit Tamriel but wouldn’t rank ESO among the top two or three MMORPGs on the market. Speaking of visiting Tamriel: Everything about the Gold Road expansion of ESO and the new content that the MMORPG will receive in 2024
