The team at ZeniMax Online has made a big change to how they handle The Elder Scrolls Online. Instead of releasing large, traditional expansions, they are now focusing on smaller seasonal updates. The studio wants to make it clear that this major shift in strategy has nothing to do with the mass layoffs that happened at their parent company, Microsoft, last year.

Those layoffs were quite significant. In July of last year, Microsoft announced it was cutting over 9,000 jobs across the company. This was the third round of major job cuts since 2023. The decision affected many game studios under Microsoft, including the teams at Rare, Turn 10, The Initiative, and Raven Software. Several game projects were also cancelled during this time.

One of the projects that was cancelled was a sci-fi MMO called Project Blackbird, which was being developed by ZeniMax Online. This cancellation resulted in nearly 200 people losing their jobs at the studio. However, following the recent announcement about The Elder Scrolls Online moving to seasonal updates, executive producer Susan Kath stated that these two events are not related.

Kath explained that the idea for seasons was not a response to the layoffs. She mentioned that the work on seasons actually began at least 12 to 14 months ago. The team started making changes to move in this direction because it was their intent from the start. She described 2025 as a hard year for the studio but noted that cancelling Project Blackbird could be seen as a positive for The Elder Scrolls Online.

She elaborated that many people were doing double duty on both projects, splitting their time between them. Now, those employees are devoted 100 percent to The Elder Scrolls Online. In some ways, the studio actually increased the number of people available for the game because they are no longer managing two different products. They are now only devoted to one title.

ZeniMax first publicly discussed the idea of smaller updates shortly after the layoffs occurred. In September, studio game director Rich Lambert told GamesIndustry.biz that the MMO was in a bit of a transition year. He said the team was looking to get smaller, more bite-sized things out quicker. The aim was to launch these smaller updates roughly every six to nine months, compared to the 12-15 month release schedule for traditional expansions.

Last week, ZeniMax formalized its plans. They announced a move to smaller, quarterly seasons that will be free for players, starting on April 2nd. This change also means that many earlier paid expansions will be rolled into the base game. Along with this, a seasonal battle pass will be introduced, featuring a free tier and two paid extensions. This battle pass is not time-limited.

In a press briefing before the announcement, Elder Scrolls Online game director Nick Giacomini insisted that this shift would give the team flexibility. He said it allows them to make the game more exciting and invest in addressing long-standing pain points. It also lets them add features and improvements players have been asking for, and update the core game rather than always chasing something brand new.

Giacomini also addressed the impact of the layoffs directly. He said it would not be right to claim that the layoffs did not impact the team. He admitted that they are putting on a strong face, but they are human, and the layoffs absolutely affected them. However, he noted that the team rallied together. They are excited about the future and about making all these big changes for the game.