Bethesda Game Studios is “working more closely” with Elder Scrolls Online team post-layoffs to continue “building the future of ESO”

Published:

31 July 2026

Last Updated: 31 July 2026

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Bethesda Game Studios, the developer behind the mainline single-player Elder Scrolls series, is now assisting with development of future content for The Elder Scrolls Online.

Following the massive Xbox layoffs that carved ESO developer Zenimax Online Studios in half, cut developers explained that the MMO may struggle to function in the future. Furthermore, the studio recently expressed “bandwidth” issues that are causing the team to cut minor features.

Alongside continued development on The Elder Scrolls Online, Zenimax Online Studios is also reportedly assisting development on The Elder Scrolls 6. While unconfirmed by ZOS, the MMO developer has confirmed the opposite: Bethesda Game Studios is now assisting with ESO.

In a statement to fans, Nick Giacomini, the new game director of ESO, announced “a new chapter of collaboration across Bethesda”. While not confirming whether or not ZOS is assisting with The Elder Scrolls 6, they did confirm that Bethesda is working with the ESO team to continue development of new content.

“By working more closely with Bethesda Game Studios across The Elder Scrolls, we have new opportunities to share ideas, align our efforts, and create even better experiences for players, all while continuing to build the future of ESO,” Giacomini told fans.

Unfortunately, even with the new assistance, The Elder Scrolls Online is still suffering from the scale of Xbox’s layoffs. Specifically, the game’s upcoming content has been delayed with a massive collection of content now pushed into 2027.

“With the recent changes to our studio, trying to hit our previously announced deadlines would mean sacrificing the quality you deserve. Therefore, we are establishing a clear principle for how we build and ship content and features moving forward: quality experiences over calendar dates,’ they confirmed.

Despite the issues, Giacomini explained that The Elder Scrolls Online is not going into maintenance and will continue to be evolved. “We’ve had bumps in the road over our 12-year history that we’ve always faced together,” he says. “As our studio evolves, we are not looking to just ‘maintain’ the game. We are looking to grow it. You, our community, are the reason we have grown over the years, and we want to keep growing with you,” he said.

The game director explained that, alongside the new Skyrim expansion launching next year, The Elder Scrolls Online will continue its new seasonal model while also delivering “long-standing player-requested features and changes that make Tamriel more fulfilling”. With the help of Bethesda Game Studios, this certainly appears doable, but with additional Xbox layoffs planned for later this year, there is a chance that even more cuts could be coming for the MMO team.

About The Author

Lewis White

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with over a decade in the field. Starting with beloved Xbox website ICXM/XboxMAD, Lewis became the Gaming Editor at MSPoweruser before becoming the Editor in Chief of StealthOptional and Gfinityesports. Lewis later jumped to By Gamers For Gamers where he jumped to become EIC of VideoGamer and the host of the New VideoGamer Podcast prior to the website’s acquisition.

Over the years, Lewis has also seen long-form investigative pieces published in outlets such as Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, Retro Gamer, Nintendo Life, and EDGE. Now, as the Editor in Chief of FRVR Blog, Lewis strives to bring the same level of quality journalism with interview-led content to the site in both written and audio form with the FRVR Podcast.

With a First Degree BA Hons in Games Journalism and Public Relations, Lewis has been a stable part of the British games press for over a decade, and has frequently displayed his love of Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and other games pretty much everywhere he’s worked. And FRVR is no different.

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