#Zenimax Online Studios

[demifiendrsa]

Bethesda Softworks will close Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi RUSH and The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks, as well as Alpha Dog Games and Roundhouse Studios, according to a companywide email sent out by Microsoft Gaming president of game content and studios Matt Booty this morning.

Full email

Today I’m sharing changes we are making to our Bethesda and ZeniMax teams. These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades.

To double down on these franchises and invest to build new ones requires us to look across the business to identify the opportunities that are best positioned for success. This reprioritization of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us.

Here are the changes going into effect:

Arkane Austin – This studio will close with some members of the team joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda. Arkane Austin has a history of making impactful and innovative games and it is a pedigree that everyone should be proud of. Redfall‘s previous update will be its last as we end all development on the game. The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy and we will provide make-good offers to players who purchased the “Hero” downloadable content.

Alpha Dog Studios – This studio will also close. We appreciate the team’s creativity in bringing DOOM to new players. Mighty DOOM will be sunset on August 7 and we will be turning off the ability for players to make any purchases in the game.

Tango Gameworks – Tango Gameworks will also close. We are thankful for their contributions to Bethesda and players around the world. Hi-Fi RUSH will continue to be available to players on the platforms it is today.

Roundhouse Games – The team at Roundhouse Games will be joining ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS). Roundhouse has played a key role in many of our recent game launches and bringing them into ZOS to work on The Elder Scrolls Online will mean we can do even more to grow the world that millions of players call home.

With this consolidation of our Bethesda studio teams, so that we can invest more deeply in our portfolio of games and new IP, a small number of roles across select Bethesda publishing and corporate teams will also be eliminated.

Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified today, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with respect and compassion. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted in today’s notifications and through their transitions, including severance benefits informed by local laws.

These changes are not a reflection of the creativity and skill of the talented individuals at these teams or the risks they took to try new things. I acknowledge that these changes are also disruptive to the various support teams across ZeniMax and Bethesda that bring our games to market. We are making these tough decisions to create capacity to increase investment in other parts of our portfolio and focus on our priority games.

Bethesda remains one of the key pillars of Xbox with a strong portfolio of amazing games and thriving communities. As we look to the future, there is an impressive line-up of games on the horizon. In 2024 alone we have Starfield “Shattered Space,” Fallout 76 “Skyline Valley,” Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, and The Elder Scrolls Online‘s “Golden Road.” As we align our plans and resources to best set ourselves up for success in this complex and changing industry, our teams across Arkane Lyon, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, MachineGames, ZeniMax Online Studios, and the Bethesda publishing and corporate teams will be well-positioned to build new IP, explore new game concepts, and expand on our existing franchises.

—Matt

Messages from each studio

Arkane Austin

Tango Gameworks

Alpha Dog Games

[geekcavepodcast]

The Elder Scrolls Online: Shadow Over Morrowind Cinematic Announcement Trailer

Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Online Studios revealed The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom, which is part of the Shadow Over Morrowind saga. Necrom introduces a new class - the Arcanist. Necrom will also have you exploring the Telvanni Peninsula of Morrowind, walking between worlds on an adventure that takes you from Tamriel into the realm of Apocrypha.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom releases for PC and Mac on June 5, 2023, and for Xbox and PlayStation consoles on June 20, 2023.

[savingcontent]

Update 44 for The Elder Scrolls Online adds new companions and upgrades the Battlegrounds PvP mode on PC and Mac today

Continue reading Update 44 for The Elder Scrolls Online adds new companions and upgrades the Battlegrounds PvP mode on PC and Mac today

[kinhagamer]

[Tokyo Game Show] Confira os anúncios da Bethesda

The Elder Scrolls Online | ESO A ZeniMax Online Studios está feliz em anunciar que The Elder Scrolls Online será lançado no Japão para consoles Xbox e PlayStation, assim como a localização completa para japonês em 15 de novembro de 2023. Durante o segmento, o diretor criativo de ESO, Rich Lambert, também destacou o conteúdo novo lançado recentemente no Capítulo Necrom, que poderá ser jogado…

[bangpuddingmuffin]

The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood

Another enjoyable expansion! I don't know if I was in a mood when I played Dragonhold, or it really was that tedious, but I'm glad I'm enjoying them again. The imperial city DLC is free, so I guess I'll check that out next before deciding if I want to do a one month sub to ESO plus.

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMOeTsMoezKZQk1Ym9xgz61yx0LFu4jfy

[ejacutastic]

A supermajority of quality assurance workers at Microsoft’s ZeniMax Studios have indicated that they wish to join ZeniMax Workers United/CWA either by signing a union authorization card or voting via an online portal. In accordance with its stated labor principles, Microsoft has recognized the union.

ZeniMax is a video game production company with studios in Maryland and Texas known for its popular games such as Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Quake Champions, and Fallout. ZeniMax Workers United/CWA is the first studio at Microsoft to secure union representation, and the largest group of union-represented Quality Assurance testers at any U.S. game studio. [...]

Unlike other video game and tech corporations, Microsoft made a public commitment around its labor principles which included respecting its employees’ right to form a union. When ZeniMax employees announced that they were organizing a union in December, Microsoft agreed to remain neutral and allow workers to make their own decision about whether or not to join the union. The company swiftly recognized ZeniMax Workers United/CWA after a neutral third party confirmed that a majority of workers favored joining the union. [...]

"It's difficult to express in words just how much winning our union matters to us. We've been working so hard to get here that it would be impossible not to be excited. We know this is not the end of our hard work, but reaching this milestone gives us faith that when workers stand together, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to," said Dylan Burton, Senior QA Tester, Dallas.

Zenimax Workers United/CWA joins the wave of game and tech workers at Activision, Alphabet, Apple, and dozens of other companies who have organized with CODE-CWA to build a better workplace.

[uuesp]

Amazing! ZeniMax Online Studios have just honored the passionate fanartists they stole designs from without permission by naming characters in the Elder Scrolls universe after them! LadyNerevar, the artist whose design for Queen Alessia was appropriated in the Greymoor DLC, has been immortalized through the character of Indoril Nerevar, Hortator and peacekeeper of the First Council of Morrowind! In a more subtle tribute, the artist whose Sotha Sil design was used for the Crown Store's Mercymother tattoo set relan-daevath's name was altered to create Brelan Neloren, an NPC in the Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind DLC! We tip our hats to ZeniMax for their commitment to making amends, and congratulate these artists for having their names forever etched into the Elder Scrolls!

[reasonandempathy]

They've formed a wall-to-wall union with workers across divisions.

The workers at Bethesda Game Studios have joined the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and they say they're the first Microsoft video game studio to form a wall-to-wall union. A total of 241 workers have either signed an authorization card or have indicated that they wanted to join a union through an online portal. The "wall-to-wall" nature of their organization means the CWA will be representing workers across job descriptions and divisions — and not just one type — including artists, engineers, programmers and designers. Bethesda is the developer behind Starfield and the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games. Microsoft has already recognized the union, so workers at the studio's Maryland office have officially joined CWA Locals 2108, while those in its Texas office have become members of CWA Locals 6215. "We are so excited to announce our union at Bethesda Game Studio and join the movement sweeping across the video game industry," Mandi Parker, Bethesda Senior System Designer, said. "It is clear that every worker can benefit from bringing democracy into the workplace and securing a protected voice on the job. We’re thrilled to get down to brass tacks and win a fair contract, proving that our unity is a source of real power to positively shape our working conditions, our lives, and the company as a whole." Bethesda's workers join the growing number of unionized personnel in video games. In January 2023, quality assurance workers at ZeniMax Studios, the parent company of Bethesda, banded together to form what was then the largest union in the industry with 300 members. It lost the distinction as the largest union in video games when 600 quality assurance workers at Activision, which is also owned by Microsoft, joined the CWA this year.

Another amazing pro-union win. I'm so happy.

[chadfallout76podcast]

With "Death Shroud!" and Wes Johnson's fundraiser, we passed a milestone with Fallout For Hope

Please retweet this thread on Twitter…because this is about ALL of you and celebrating a major milestone. https://twitter.com/fchadfallout76/status/1664228503640743936?s=20

Fallout For Hope has passed a major milestone. $522,000 in 3 YEARS on Tiltify That’s no small number, no small impact. With Fallout gamers, Elder Scrolls gamers, and indeed gamers from everywhere all over the world YOU are making a difference.

This initiative was born from the belief that a community working together in one voice could achieve more than we ever could alone. Through a shared faith that we could make a difference, we did, we have and we’re just getting started.

We live in a cynical world, with social media weighted to encourage cynicism, fear, hopelessness, and division. And yet, this initiative is proof positive that hope endures, that we CAN put others before ourselves. I am so incredibly proud of all of you.

Over the years Fallout For Hope has been supported by an amazing team of sponsors from noblechairs, POPeART, Bethesda and Zenimax Online Studios whose giveaways truly make a difference.

Massive thank you to all the developers, voice actors, celebrities, and reporters. I cannot, could not, make this happen without every one of our 614 team of staff and streamers from 86 countries around the world. Our causes from St. Jude, American Heart, Alzheimer's Association and Project Hope are indebted to you for all of your time and talent.

Lastly, I want every one of you to remember that whether you've raised $5, no dollars or thousands, YOU should be proud of you for standing up and getting involved.

War Never Changes. But hope? Hope can save a life.

Heart is full, ~ Kenneth Vigue (and now I'm taking a month-long break to work on the podcast lol)

[tomsawyee]

Every time a Pretty Good RPG comes out, the same brand of post crops up and gets reblogged by Pretty Much Everyone, and it always functionally boils down to:

"See??? People still love single player games!!"

It's pretty easy to see where this take comes from. With the advent of consoles and internet connections that can functionally "always" be online (ymmv, our private internet infrastructure is woefully lacking), AAA has been on a shift away from offline standalone experiences for ~15 years.

What this take ignores, though, is where this shift in what gets greenlit and published comes from.

No amount of "proof" that single player character RPGs still make money is going to change the fact that shitting out Call of Duty every year makes more.

The games audience on Tumblr is heavily skewed toward character games with flexibly approachable RPG mechanics and gamified relationship interactions. This community, large though it may seem from the inside as all fan communities feel, is a microscopic slice of the games market. Every rando who's ever worked in a store that sells consoles can confirm: The vast majority of Xbox One's and PS4's are/were Call of Duty + Fifa and/or Madden Machines. These games are annual releases with minimal change between titles and robust+heavily monetized online features.

Bioware didn't shit out Anthem because the (exhausted, mismanaged) workers there wanted to make Destiny: But Worse. Bethesda didn't shit out Fallout 76 because their devs thought it would be a compelling restructuring of the IP they had already rendered unrecognizable under the survival MMO umbrella. They did it because EA and Zenimax, publicly traded billion dollar parasites, wanted to cash in on the fact that, if you can tap this content well just right, you can convince people to keep paying for your game forever. They did it because we've been modding the shit out of Skyrim for 10 years and they're losing sleep over the fact that we haven't had to keep giving Zenimax (Microsoft, lmao) more money to do so.

The antidote to this problem isn't to cross our fingers and pray that Dragon Age 4 doesn't suck (It's going to) (If it even comes out at all). It's to stop placing our hopes in the hands of enormous publishers, and to do start digging for games that scratch the itches AAA is intentionally missing because they aren't infinite money pits.

The antidote to the frustration of corporatized art-making is the same for every medium: Go looking for the thing that you want. It probably exists, and it is probably being drowned out in the mainstream by multi-million dollar marketing campaigns for Assassin's Creed: We Promise We Don't Abuse Women Anymore Lmao XIII. You don't even have to manually dig through itch.io-- Investing a little more in this hobby we all love can start with something as simple as clicking the "more like this" equivalent tab on whatever online marketplace you use and reading more about a title that doesn't cost $59.99 but still catches your eye. Mainstream indie-adjacent publishers like Devolver and Annapurna Interactive have strong recent track records of enabling small/medium studios to make games that are compelling and fun without the looming specter of infinite monetization and breaking employee's backs to make sure horse balls shrink in the cold.

I really hope you consider this perspective if you feel like BG3 came out of nowhere. It was in Early Access for almost 3 years, but it was largely panned from the mainstream Hype Cycle. Larian self-publishes, and games journalism is by-and-large not journalism but marketing, so this enormous game was incredibly easy to miss if you weren't actively looking for it.

Every tier of this industry has its own foundational rot, its own bad actors, its own entities that we really don't want to give our money to. But I promise, taking a little bit of time to go digging past the AAA buzz of the week will net you a better experience than waiting for megacorps to place something in front of you that is worthy of your time.

[monowires]

the elder scrolls online: tamriel unlimited; zenimax online studios & bethesda, 2014.

[ayrennaranaaldmeri]

so all this time you can pet gryphon fledglings but only in the f****** coral aerie why does zenimax online studios hate me personally 

[gehayi]

Okay, I should not have reblogged this without checking it first. Fortunately @lordnoxie provided me with a link about this being a meme:

The page of UESP is fake. Here's what the real UESP says about this:

In 2018, a faked snapshot of a UESP page was shared online which falsely stated that, during production of Morrowind, Kirkbride was found under the influence of psychoactive drugs by Todd Howard after being absent from work, paired with a photograph it claimed was taken by Howard of the incident.[47] In truth, no such UESP page ever existed; the story is a fabrication.[47] The image was taken from a music video, fat, that Kirkbride had filmed and uploaded to YouTube in 2013, many years after his time working on Morrowind (the video depicts Kirkbride lethargically overeating as Wesley Willis' I'm Sorry That I Got Fat plays).[48] Lady Nerevar said of the video's misuse, "If you told me that a dumb video we made for fun was going to generate a wholeass conspiracy theory that real life people would ask me about [...] None of that happened in any way, shape, or form".[49]

With regard to the hoax and exaggerated accounts of his writing The 36 Lessons of Vivec, Kirkbride said "You know that comes from a Photoshopped image, right? [...] that’s all a lie. I’ve already given an account of how the 36 [Lessons] were written: a week of bourbon, smokes, and solitude."[50] Kirkbride has repeatedly refuted internet myths that he used recreational drugs[50][51][52][53] and has said that the myths annoy him "more than a little bit".[54] Related rumors that he was dismissed from the company are likewise unfounded; Kirkbride left Bethesda for Zenimax's studio in California,[1] remained involved in the production of Morrowind after leaving the studio,[23] and continued to contribute to subsequent titles.[1][5][8][10]

They just don’t make games like they used to no more

[bangpuddingmuffin]

The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor

I enjoyed Greymoor. Blackreach was a pleasant surprise and the plot, while doing nothing particularly unique, was enough to keep me interested.

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMOeTsMoezKatmYDNlLPxp6fZXakOn06m

[leafatlas]

Elder Scrolls Online developer votes to unionise

Enter and Win Robux Coins Workers at ZeniMax Online Studios voted for the union. ZOS United-CWA, part of the U.S. communications workers, is recognized by parent company Microsoft as a “significant sign of victory for workers’ rights in the industry.” To view this content, enable cookies. Manage cookie settings Is Sony buying parent company FromSoftware, the next big acquisition of the gaming…