The Elder Scrolls Online is benefiting from the anticipation for Elder Scrolls 6 as well as the positive reception to Oblivion: Remastered, say the MMO's lead developers, ZeniMax Online studio director Rich Lambert and game director Nick Giacomini.
You might think that the release of a big game like Oblivion: Remastered, which of course takes place in the Elder Scrolls universe, might have a dampening effect the success of a game like ESO - and likewise that the the glitzy allure of Elder Scrolls 6 looming in the distance might make an 11-year-old MMO look downright ancient - but according to Lambert and Giacomini, it's been quite the contrary.
According to the duo, there are a lot of ESO players playing the game like it's a single-player RPG while they wait Elder Scrolls 6 to take over their lives.
"We hear that a lot," Lambert told IGN. "It's really interesting over the years going to the various shows and community events, you hear that a lot, right? I can't tell you how many times I've answered the, 'When's TES 6 coming?' 'What's TES 6?' 'Tell me!' And it's like… That's a different studio, right?
"But yes, people are super passionate about Elder Scrolls. For a lot of people, this has been their home because they love Elder Scrolls and they just want to play more of it, and we're able to provide that."
Similarly, Lambert and Giacomini said ESO got a nice bump in active players after Oblivion: Remastered released, likely due to people being introduced or re-introduced to the Elder Scrolls universe and then looking for more in ESO.
"The Oblivion remaster was another big thing," Lambert said. "That came out and we were like, 'Okay, that's going to hit our numbers for a while.' And there was a small blip and then the numbers went up. Kind of like the Fallout show. We were like, 'Wow, this is cool. Right?' So yeah, it's interesting."
Nick Giacomini added that ZeniMax Online saw "a lot of new and lapsed players come back very quickly after [Oblivion Remastered], and it continued actually for quite some time. It was pretty exciting."
Although ZeniMax Online's unannounced MMO codenamed Blackbird was sadly canceled as part of the big Xbox layoffs over the summer, ESO continues to endure through widespread industry turmoil even now that it's in the back half of its 12th year.
Elder Scrolls MMO lead still wants to make a new game, despite the cancelation of the Blackbird project that Xbox's Phil Spencer apparently loved: "I don't think you can ride one thing into forever"
