The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online has now achieved 2 billion US dollars in revenue, even though it was considered a failure in 2014. Daniel Beahn worked at ZeniMax for 10 years, most recently as Lead Producer: He says ESO owes this success to one man, the former CEO Robert A. Altmann.
How was the release of ESO? The Elder Scrolls Online was released in 2014 and the launch was difficult at that time:
- For many, The Elder Scrolls was purely a single-player brand and Bethesda a role-playing studio. ESO was critically viewed as an MMORPG and primarily compared to WoW, where it performed poorly.
- The MMORPG faced many typical problems at launch that burden new MMORPGs: The balancing was weak: Vampires could kill hundreds of players. There was an endgame, but it was terrible. The game was plagued by many bugs and technical issues. The announced versions for PlayStation and Xbox One did not even appear due to the numerous problems with the PC version.
- For many other MMORPGs like WildStar or ArcheAge that were released in the same year, such problems marked a swift end, but The Elder Scrolls Online managed to recover from the rocky launch and became a hit in the years that followed
Developer was at ESO for 10 years, raves about the former CEO
What was behind it? As developer Daniel Beahn recounts on LinkedIn , he sees the CEO of Zenimax, Robert Altman, and his attitude as the father of success:
I spent 20% of my life working on this game. Its success is due to Robert Altman’s willingness to ignore quarterly reports in favor of a long-term vision. And the clear conviction that ZeniMax was a family and that you do not fire family members unless all other options were exhausted.
As announced at a developer conference, The Elder Scrolls Online has generated nearly 2 billion US dollars in revenue ten years after its release (via mmorpg.com).
Beahn says: That is a huge pile of money. And this pile would not be on the table right now if Robert Altman had focused on quarterly reports.
After the takeover by Microsoft, there were layoffs
What’s behind it: The praise for Altman is a subtle jab at the new owner of Bethesda and ZeniMax, Microsoft. They laid off 1,900 people in January 2024, because growth in the industry, that is, those quarterly reports, did not look so favorable.
Among those laid off is also Daniel Beahn: He has been on sabbatical since January 2024 to recharge his batteries, as he writes.
Robert Altman, the CEO of Zenimax, passed away in February 2021 at the age of 73. Microsoft acquired ZeniMax and Bethesda in September 2020.
How is this being discussed? On reddit , users emphasize Altman’s importance for Bethesda:
- He was really a “good person” who wanted everyone at Zenimax to feel comfortable – several users have heard numerous stories about this
- This also contributed to the special charm of Bethesda, as the studio had long-term, experienced employees who had worked at the company for a long time and who mastered their craft
What’s behind it: The Elder Scrolls Online is, along with Warframe and Final Fantasy XIV, the feel-good story among the MMOs. The game had potential at release, but many problems. Because someone like Altman believed in the long-term success of the project, the MMORPG got the time, money, and love it needed to unfold its potential.
Many MMORPGs and MMOs in recent years did not receive this time and have died very early, often after just about a year.
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