In July 2025, 9,000 employees left Microsoft. This included Zenimax and the MMO Elder Scrolls Online (ESO). Studio Director Rich Lambert explained in a recent interview that they still have big plans for ESO.
What happened?
- In July 2025, Microsoft announced that it would lay off 9,100 employees, including many in the gaming sector.
- According to various reports, these layoffs primarily affected the studio behind Elder Scrolls Online. The new MMORPG that ZeniMax had been working on for 7 years has also been cancelled.
- Additionally, there were changes in the leadership of Elder Scrolls Online: Rich Lambert became the Studio Game Director and Nick Giacomini took over as the new head of the MMORPG.
The English-language magazine PCGamesN spoke with Rich Lambert about the layoffs in July 2025 and the future of Elder Scrolls Online. Here, Lambert stated that while it was a tough time, they still had big plans for the MMORPG.
ESO is set to last 30 years but is also facing a transformation with strong competition
In the interview with PCGamesN, Lambert discussed the layoffs and the future of Elder Scrolls Online:
It was a very emotional time. There were friends and colleagues with whom I had worked personally for ten to fifteen years, and we lost them. You go through a kind of grieving process.
But ultimately, we still have our commitment to our community, to the game, and to everyone who is still here, and we must carry on, no matter how difficult it is. That’s what the studio is focused on: We want ESO to be the 30-year MMO.
In an interview with MeinMMO at gamescom 2025, Rich Lambert and Nick Giacomini stated that Elder Scrolls Online is undergoing a transformation, as players have limited time and there are many alternatives to ESO. For an MMORPG that is now 11 years old, these are significant challenges, but as Nick explained, “We want to stay true to our roots but evolve to attract new players and retain existing ones.”
After all, Elder Scrolls Online still has 19 years until its 30th anniversary to fill with content. For the remainder of 2025, they already have big plans for ESO, and the current content pass is still ongoing: In the 3rd quarter of 2025, a dungeon pack titled “Feast of Shadows” is set to release, and in the 4th quarter, alongside a new event (“Twisting Wall”), there will also be a continuation of the Seasons of the Worm Cult.
Around gamescom 2025, the developers of The Elder Scrolls Online hinted that after all these years, they finally want to implement crossplay for PC and consoles. In a recent “Ask Me Anything” session, there was the first update on this: One of the biggest MMORPGs for PC and consoles is finally getting crossplay, aiming to unite all players in Europe.
