The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is implementing several adjustments to its operations, including changes to its web-based Crown Store and promotional content, which the development team attributes to a "team bandwidth" shortage. These modifications come in the wake of significant layoffs at ZeniMax Online Studios, which included studio leadership and other staff members. The game's seasonal roadmap has also been impacted.
Community manager Kevin Gbolie announced that the Web Crown Store will be removed from the official elderscrollsonline.com website. While players will still be able to purchase crowns and items, these transactions will now exclusively be available within the game client. This decision aims to help manage the team's workload. Additionally, the monthly Crown Store Showcase blog will transition from detailed item descriptions and high-resolution images to a brief bulleted list, a change made to conserve the team's time and resources.
"To be blunt, the team responsible for the blog and those screenshots doesn't have the capacity to provide those at the scale we could before," Gbolie stated on the ESO forums. "But we will provide what we can for now and adjust from there."
These changes follow a wave of layoffs within Microsoft's gaming division, which affected hundreds of employees at ZeniMax's Maryland offices. Among those departing were studio head Jo Burba, executive producer Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert, and production director Ala Diaz. The team acknowledged earlier this month that previously shared roadmaps would be subject to shifts due to these reductions.
Despite these operational changes and player concerns about the game's future within Microsoft's evolving portfolio, ZeniMax Online leadership has expressed confidence. Reports from within the community, citing Associate Design Director Jason Barnes and Associate Director of Community Management Jessica Folsom, suggest that ZeniMax Online Studios has returned to a team size comparable to when highly acclaimed DLCs like Wrothgar and Summerset were developed. This has led some players to believe that new content development will not cease and the game will not enter a maintenance-only mode, though the recent adjustments have understandably caused unease among the player base.