Hope you weren’t planning on attending the big anniversary bash finale for The Elder Scrolls Online because ZeniMax Online Studios just abruptly canceled it.
Readers will recall that last December, the studio announced it would be celebrating the game’s 10th anniversary with a full year of real-world events starting in The Netherlands last April and then rolling on through Australia, China, Sweden, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, the UK, Japan, and then finally, the US in mid-2025. But last night, ZOS told players that it has canceled the large-scale North American gathering.
“This was a difficult decision to make,” ZOS says, while not giving any explanation for this difficult decision to make, “and we plan to continue holding smaller gatherings in various global locations, including meetups at industry events.”
To say that players are upset would be a huge understatement, as social media and Reddit have exploded with angry posts. Players resent the game’s home country being snubbed after large-scale events were already held overseas, question the announcement’s timing given that some players were already planning trips for the event, and express annoyance that ZeniMax Online Studios didn’t actually give anything resembling a clear explanation for the cancelation. That lapse has led to broad speculation that the team’s budget has been slashed in favor of ZOS’ unnamed in-development MMO in spite of ESO’s massive revenues – and worse, that the game may be headed to some form of maintenance mode.
“It’s become quite clear this 10 year ‘celebration’ is anything but,” one player posted. “This is a funeral. It’s over.”
We do note here that 2024 was World of Warcraft’s 20th anniversary and Blizzard had big expansions for WoW and Diablo IV on deck, and yet Blizzard nevertheless canceled BlizzCon – or was made to. Blizzard and ZOS do have an owner in common that starts with a Micro and ends with a soft, which may be to blame for both the cutbacks and lack of communication.
Maybe we’ll get more candor out of Matt Firor on December 17th, when the game’s producer letter is supposed to arrive. Either way, sounds like a fresh candidate for our list of MMO blunders of 2024.
Please read this update on our 2025 ESO 10-Year Anniversary Celebration in-person event plans. pic.twitter.com/RD8gHz9Shw
— The Elder Scrolls Online (@TESOnline) December 6, 2024
