The Elder Scrolls Online faces an uncertain future after developer Zenimax Online Studios was reportedly "decimated" by Microsoft's latest round of Xbox layoffs. The cuts are part of a wider reduction that has seen 1,600 jobs lost this week, with a further 1,600 roles set to be terminated over the coming year — a move that will shrink Microsoft's gaming division by roughly 20%. While Microsoft avoided outright studio closures, the scale of the losses has left the ESO team significantly weakened, raising doubts about how the long-running MMO will continue to be supported.

According to Kotaku, which broke the story, as much as half of Zenimax Online Studios may have been let go, though the exact figures have not been confirmed. Community manager Jessica Folsom has acknowledged that previously shared content "roadmaps" will be "shifting" as the studio reassesses its plans. Despite the upheaval, ESO — which launched in 2014 and is regarded by some as one of the MMO genre's three pillars alongside World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV — is still due to roll out its new seasonal update structure later this week, a launch expected to go ahead unaffected.