It was previously unclear how many developers at ZeniMax Online Studios were affected by the layoffs. Now, an official listing from the state of Maryland reveals just how serious the situation is. It’s not looking good for Elder Scrolls Online.
How many employees are affected? According to an official listing from the state of Maryland on labor.maryland.gov, 213 employees from ZeniMax Online Studios have reported being affected by the recent mass layoffs at Microsoft. Additionally, 166 more employees from ZeniMax Media are included.
If one assumes that after last year’s layoffs, about 300 to 350 employees were still employed at ZeniMax Online Studios, the company is losing about 60 to 71 percent of its workforce.
This is a significant reduction in the team, clearly highlighting that Elder Scrolls Online cannot continue as it has in the past.
It is also clear that ZeniMax is losing many of its highly experienced veterans. In the official ESO forum, fans of the MMORPG have taken the effort to list many of those affected, who are apparently now looking for a job.
The list includes, among others: Studio Game Director Rich Lambert, Community Manager Gina Bruno, Lead Dungeon Director Mike Finnigan, Senior Writer Designer Jeff Grubb, and Narrative Director Bill Slavicsek. We have had direct contact with many of these people at events and interviews over the past years.
“What a horrible situation”
How is the community reacting to the extent of the layoffs? Many fans are shocked by the scale of the layoffs. They are concerned about the future of Elder Scrolls Online and are thinking of those affected.
- ParticularGeese writes on Reddit: “Wow, that’s bigger than I thought. The ESO developers and players are so unfortunate – what a horrible situation.”
- wathowdathappen estimates on Reddit: “Your content team has been severely reduced. Hence, updates will take two to three times longer (depending on whether the remaining employees can handle the workload) – or the game will simply be put in maintenance mode. I doubt we will ever receive an answer.”
- SlipperySlimyTerry40 doesn’t understand (via Reddit): “I am really very curious as to why this is. ESO was still super popular whenever I played it. Virtually every zone was full of life. And as far as I know, most people had a subscription for the game because of the crafting bag and access to the DLCs. It must be impossible for it to have been such a money drain that justified such an extensive wave of layoffs.”
It is clear that Microsoft has significantly changed the gaming industry with its recent actions. Various studios are fighting for their survival. Projects have been canceled. The focus has shifted to the very big franchises. This could apparently bring us a fresh Fallout from Obsidian according to new insider reports.
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