ZeniMax Online says Elder Scrolls Online will deliver content far more slowly after Xbox-mandated layoffs cut deeply into the studio, laid-off senior encounter designer Morgan Goin told the BBC.
Goin said staff spent about a month in uncertainty before the cuts landed and were left blindsided by how many jobs were eliminated.
The slowdown hits just after ZeniMax shifted ESO from annual expansions to a seasonal model and launched Season One under a 2026+ roadmap that now must be revised.
Internal metrics had been improving, according to an anonymous source, and ESO had already surpassed $2 billion in lifetime revenue, undercutting any suggestion the game was underperforming.
Replacing lost developers will be difficult because ESO runs on a custom in-house engine, with the source saying new hires or contractors need at least six months to become effective.