There is certainly no shortage of things to discuss with the devs of Elder Scrolls Online, whether it’s wider studio matters like layoffs and leadership changes or game-related things like scribing and subclassing. Some of those matters were touched on during a WCCFTech interview at Gamescom with new ESO director Nick Giacomini and now studio director Rich Lambert.
That change in roles was one of the first questions addressed by the pair, with Lambert explaining that he’ll focus on studio-wide initiatives and future projects while Giacomini will handle ESO’s future direction. As for the vision for ESO’s future, Giacomini says that he and Lambert share similar thoughts on listening to the playerbase first and making sure the now 11 year-old MMORPG evolves.
That talk about evolution segues into a question about the MMORPG’s new seasons model and how it’s been received by players so far. While both admitted that the dust hasn’t really settled on the shift, they also feel that most players are beginning to see the dev team apply some of the promised experimentation such as the recently announced Writhing Wall event.
“Part of the philosophy change is that it prevents us from getting locked into this extremely long development cycle, so we have more opportunities to try things to engage,” says Giacomini. “I think this is very much a transitional year. By the next year, players are going to see more change and understand it better.”
The interview then moves into some of the more focused plans for ESO, with confirmation that more system-specific updates will continue forward, the Infinite Archive may be expanded if players want it to, and the potential to expand on the scribing system, though it is also noted that not much of what’s planned for 2026 can be discussed yet. The pair also consider how subclassing has shifted the MMORPG’s meta and how players use it to engage in content like PvE trials, as well as talk about how to best balance things to ensure those who play just a single class aren’t left behind or that players aren’t forced into one subclass choice.
Finally, the question about the impact of layoffs was touched on: Both admitted that the effects among devs and the two personally were still very raw, but they also resolved to pour full focus into ESO in order to achieve that 30-year game ambition.
“We are not shutting the doors and backing down and cutting, mothballing ESO to run it out,” responds Lambert. “[W]e’re focused on moving ahead and forging ahead with the people we have left. We want to make ESO the best thing it can be, and that’s the goal for all of us.”
