Elder Scrolls Online shifts to seasonal content after 2025 turmoil at ZeniMax

Pcgamer reports that after Project Blackbird was cancelled by Microsoft and Elder Scrolls Online director Matt Frior left the studio, the ESO team is planning a move to seasonal content and expressing cautious hope for the game's future.

Developers say the change is a complete overhaul of how content is released for the 12-year-old MMO, shifting to a seasonal pattern intended to make the team more agile, especially for addressing long-standing quality-of-life and design issues. "Obviously last year was a tough year for the studio—as you said, for reasons we don't even necessarily need to dig into—but the team has very much rallied," Kath explains. "I see a lot of enthusiasm from the team as we're going forward. Folks are excited about their work. I'm excited for them to be doing this. We're looking forward." The team also tried to keep the January reveal concise to avoid overburdening players, and heard feedback such as: "You could have gone longer!"

Giacomini mentioned a 30-year ambition for the game and described ESO as facing the kind of institutional or foundational baggage many MMOs must overcome to survive. The team hopes the seasonal model will increase agility, but specific rollout timing and further details were not provided.

Key Topics

Culture, Elder Scrolls Online, Zenimax, Project Blackbird, Microsoft, Matt Frior