Change is on the horizon for ZeniMax Online Studios as they continue to evolve their world in Tamriel.
As we near the end of 2024, Matt Firor, the head honcho at ZeniMax Online Studios, took a moment to connect with fans of The Elder Scrolls Online. His message celebrated the studio’s milestones and hinted at exciting developments awaiting players in 2025.
One of the most significant changes involves how future content will roll out. Since 2017, The Elder Scrolls Online has delivered annual expansions termed Chapters, with the latest being Gold Road, which dropped just a few months back. However, this expansion model is being phased out. The team wants the freedom to explore new ideas, which shorter timelines have constrained in the past. Instead of Chapters, the game will transition to Seasons, each spanning three or six months. These Seasons will be packed with story content, events, dungeons, and more, promising a fresh and varied gaming experience.
In addition to this major shift, the team is focusing on a host of improvements driven by player feedback. They’re set to enhance performance in areas like Cyrodiil, refine the feel of combat through better animations and effects, and streamline guild management and engagement. Plus, there’s an overhaul planned for the player user experience, especially on PC, with a more efficient patcher and a revamped UI.
Looking to the future, fans can expect a content update in March 2025. There’s also a larger announcement scheduled for April 2025, pushing a bit beyond the usual January reveals that came with previous Chapters.
But that’s not all—ZeniMax Online Studios is cooking up something new. While details remain under wraps, we do know that the team has significantly expanded in recent years to support this undisclosed project, which runs on a completely new engine. Back in 2022, over 200 developers were already engaged with this new venture, a number that’s likely risen since.
While these changes may provide some breathing room for the ESO team, it’s possible they’re also reallocating resources to this exciting project we know so little about yet.
Also worth noting is that ZeniMax Online Studios has joined the wave of unionization sweeping multiple Xbox teams, including Bethesda Game Studios and Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft team.
In the meantime, The Elder Scrolls Online is accessible on a range of platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Mac. For subscribers, the base game is also part of the Xbox Game Pass lineup.
ZeniMax Online Studios seems poised to keep players engaged with new content and improvements while also setting the stage for what’s next in their exciting world of gaming.
