The Elder Scrolls Online has been running for years and still looks good. But what if a version 2 is ever needed? This question was clearly answered by lead developer Matt Firor in an interview.
What was that interview about? In an interview with the website IGN, ESO lead developer Matt Firor discussed the studio’s plans to possibly create a second installment of ESO. After all, the demands of the community are rising, and at some point, the game might not be able to present a modern appearance with the current engine and technology.
ESO 2 would be as unnecessary as Netflix 2
What did the head say about ESO 2? When asked whether we would eventually reach a limit and have to completely rebuild the engine in a second version of ESO, Firor confidently shared the following statement:
We seem to be doing our job very well. In case you haven’t noticed, we are constantly tearing down the engine [and rebuilding it], one aspect at a time. The engine we have now is completely different from the one we started the game with. The [old engine] would never have worked at the scale we are currently operating. So we are continually active behind the scenes and making [the engine] better.
A major update for the ESO engine was recently shown at E3 2021. According to Firor, these updates have created entirely new challenges. For instance, they had to go without new animations for six months because they overloaded the memory of the old consoles. Only through further updates could this problem be circumvented.
Some of the improvements that ESO is getting on the new consoles can be found here.
ESO 2 is like Netflix 2: Overall, Firor seems to find the idea of an ESO 2 absurd in light of this development. He compares ESO 2 to Netflix 2:
So when it comes to ESO 2, it’s like … [like the question] when Netflix 2 is coming? Right? We are a service that players log into and play every day. As long as they continue to do that, we don’t need a second installment.
Subsequently, Firor also explained that there have actually been several versions of ESO if one looks closely:
In many ways, Orsinium, the DLC we released in 2015, was already something like version 2. And Morrowind was then version 3. Every year we make a new chapter update, and that’s not just new content. There are a lot of technical things going on behind the scenes that keep the game running and ensure that it stays relevant.
As ESO continues to evolve and improve with each update, it’s still worth diving into the large and lovingly designed MMORPG. Our MeinMMO author Alexander Leitsch just started with ESO after 5 years and says, ‘You should too!’
