A month after Microsoft pulled the plug on an in-development MMO at ZeniMax Online Studios, new studio head Jo Burba has posted an update promising that The Elder Scrolls Online remains safe and secure.
“Please allow me to assure you, the ESO community, that the game isn’t going anywhere, and the studio is continuing to work hard on new features, adventures, and improvements,” Burba wrote. “We said that there’s big changes to the world of Tamriel on the horizon, and that hasn’t changed. We will be sharing more about those soon.”
Burba, a 13-year veteran of ZeniMax, took over as studio head following the surprise departure of Matt Firor on July 2, the same day the studio’s unannounced MMO was cancelled. That was also the day Microsoft laid off roughly 9,000 employees, cancelled Everwild and the Perfect Dark reboot, and closed The Initiative. In light of all that, the reassuring statement above has a bit of a Han Solo improv air to it, doesn’t it?
“The recent loss of our colleagues sent painful shockwaves through the entire studio,” Burba wrote. “Right now, we have an all-hands-on-deck approach and are focused on learning. While we reflect, focusing on ESO is our priority. Our partners at Bethesda and at Xbox believe, as I do, that ESO, like other MMOs who are still updating their worlds after 10, 20, or 30+ years, is a long-term home for our players.
“When we add that 30+ years long view to our list of stars that guide us, it can steady us with clear-eyed purpose even when storms hit. We are still holding on to our values. We are still building ESO with you and for you. We are still ZOS, evolving and getting better every day. We are still Bethesda.”
I imagine that comes as little comfort to the ZeniMax employees who were let go in the Microsoft bloodbath, and those who remain too, at least some of whom don’t seem as upbeat about what the future holds as Burba. ZeniMax union member Autumn Mitchell said last week that morale at the studio is “terrible” following the layoffs, adding, “This carcass of workers that remains is somehow supposed to keep shipping award-winning games. I don’t really know [how that works] … Microsoft just took everything that could have been great about the culture and collaboration and decimated it.”