The Elder Scrolls Online team presses on after layoffs and delayed updates

The Elder Scrolls Online team is continuing development after layoffs at ZeniMax Online and delays that moved some planned updates to 2027. Game director Nick Giacomini acknowledged the personal impact on staff while reaffirming the team’s commitment to ESO and its players.

The cancellation of Project Blackbird in July 2025 led to 62 employees losing their jobs. A further 213 ZeniMax Online employees were laid off during Xbox’s restructuring in July this year; the report says the development team fell by roughly 60% over one year.

Updates moved to 2027

Following the layoffs, the studio reviewed its schedule and postponed several updates to 2027. Giacomini said the team wanted to protect the player experience rather than rush content simply to meet its original release dates.

Despite the disruption, developers are already planning further work. Giacomini said he had attended meetings about plans for late 2027 and early 2028, while loremaster Michael Zenke said the team wanted to deliver the vision developed by colleagues who had worked on ESO before the layoffs.

Three new types of content

On September 28, ESO is scheduled to receive three content additions: The Nowhere Vault, featuring randomly arranged puzzles, mazes and jumping challenges; The High Seas of Tamriel, an event involving ship and underwater combat; and rumours, scavenger-hunt-style quests built around clues rather than map markers.

Associate game director Jason Barnes said rumours are intended to restore a stronger sense of discovery and exploration. Early testing was positive, he said, with some players asking for the quests to become harder and more obscure.

The developers also cited Night market as an example of the studio’s experimental approach. Players initially considered the difficult content too punishing, but later began grouping up and responding more positively.

Giacomini said community support had helped the team through the layoffs and delays. He mentioned a book made by players and delivered to the office as one example of that support.