ESO Team Reworks Roadmap After Layoffs, Seasonal Plans Still Planned
Xbox’s layoffs rolled out last week, and the impact on ZeniMax was immediately hard to miss. Reports claimed that as many as half of the Elder Scrolls Online team were let go, sparking urgent questions about whether the MMO could keep getting updates—and what that would mean for the newly announced seasonal plans.
With that uncertainty hanging over the community, the ESO team has stepped in to address players directly. On the Elder Scrolls Online forums, community manager ZOS_Kevin says development is still moving forward, though he also acknowledges that the team will be working from a “revised roadmap” going forward.
Quick facts
- ESO’s community manager says development continues after the layoffs.
- A “revised roadmap” is planned for future content.
- Game director Nick Giacomini and executive producer Susan Kath are focused on timing and team support.
- An Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages Discord admin says ZeniMax Online Studios is back to the size it was during the Wrothgar and Summerset DLC era.
- Players are also worried about Fallout 76 following layoffs on that team.
The Elder Scrolls Online Team Is Getting Back To Work After Devastating Layoffs
Over the weekend, the ESO team posted several reassuring messages aimed at calming fears. Community manager ZOS_Kevin replied to fans on the official forum and shared a clearer look at how leadership—game director Nick Giacomini and executive producer Susan Kath—is managing the situation.
“We are planning a revised roadmap,” ZOS_Kevin said. He added that, as noted in his earlier comments, Nick and Susan are currently working on scheduling and taking care of the team, describing the week as difficult in a way that everyone can understand.
He continued by emphasizing that the overall intention is still to deliver strong content, and he said the team is hoping to provide an update soon. He also used the post to thank players for their support and concern for the studio and for everyone affected by the layoffs.
In parallel, community chatter outside the official forums has offered more perspective on what this may look like internally. A Discord administrator for the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages community, Baratron, discussed the team’s current scale and what it could imply for ESO’s future.
Baratron said, “ZeniMax Online Studios is now at the same size as it was when they made both Wrothgar and Summerset.” He pointed out that both of those releases are widely regarded as standout DLCs, arguing that the layoffs, while deeply upsetting for everyone involved—including players—do not automatically mean the game is heading into maintenance-only territory.
Even with that reassurance, the situation is still a major hit to morale and team momentum. And with additional layoffs reportedly looming later this year, it’s difficult for players to feel confident about how smoothly development can continue.
The same anxiety is showing up around another Bethesda-adjacent MMO. Fallout 76’s team also posted that they were affected by the layoffs last week, and players are now questioning what Xbox’s long-term plan is for that title as well.
