Lay offs have hit Zenimax Online Studios, the developer behind The Elder Scrolls Online. Interestingly, the layoffs aren’t because the game isn’t doing well or anything like that. Bethesda’s VP of PR and Marketing Pete Hines said that the lay offs were common with large-scale MMOs post-release.
Not that it makes it okay, but it’s par for the course of triple-A studios to lay-off many of their redundant staff after the release of a game if there’s nothing else for them to work on.
“As is the norm for games of this type, we had ramped up a large workforce to develop a game of vast scale, and ramped up our customer service to handle the expected questions and community needs of The Elder Scrolls Online at launch,” said Hines in an interview with Joystiq. “Now that we are nearly six months post launch, we have a thriving online community in a game that runs smoothly.”
In spite of the layoffs, the studio continues to operate as normal, with a sizable workforce made up of tech support staff, customer service, community management and game development.
“We remain strongly committed to The Elder Scrolls Online, and continue to invest heavily to develop new content for PC players, prepare the game for its console launch, and handle our planned expansion into important international territories,” Hines added.
“As for customer service, we continue to operate large support centers in Hunt Valley, MD and Galway, Ireland.”
The fourth major update for The Elder Scrolls Online is currently on its way, as are the console versions of the game.
