The head of The Elder Scrolls Online reflects on 2016 and excites fans for 2017.
Matt Firor has reached out to fans in a letter. 2016 was outstanding:
- Great DLCs like “Thieves Guild” and “Dark Brotherhood” were released.
- The number of players has grown, especially when breaking the 7-million-player mark, a celebration was in order.
- The team has worked with passion and dedication towards success.
- One Tamriel and other system changes have opened up ESO, kept it fresh, and laid the foundation for great growth.
2017 is promised to be EVEN better, Firor assures. In February, “Homestead” will come to the test server. The free update brings housing to ESO. There are also “great plans” after that. Details are still unavailable. But Firor says: Trust us, we will talk about fantastic new things as early as possible. 2017 is set to be even more successful. For years, ESO will see growth and success ahead.
Here’s how we see the year 2016 for ESO
My MMO thinks: Generally, such announcements make one feel like playing the Grinch and mixing a bit of cod liver oil into the powdered sugar. But considering where ESO stood at the end of 2014, it has been a great development since summer 2015. They have focused on their strengths, clearly directed ESO towards “Skyrim”, and have been rewarded with success.
Especially console players wanted “More The Elder Scrolls” after Skyrim. The 2014 ESO with many typical MMO limitations, ideas, and also massive issues could not satisfy that hunger. The 2016 ESO can do this much better and works well.
They have greatly improved the game post-release. While other MMOs have struggled and are close to extinction, ESO is doing better than ever before.
Critically, one can surely mention some details like with any game, but overall it was a good year for ESO, even though the second half of the year became significantly quieter – and the upcoming months will likely remain relatively calm. One can be curious whether it will pick up again later in 2016.
For comparison – here’s how ESO fared a year ago:
The Elder Scrolls Online: Where does TESO stand at the beginning of 2016?
