wisherevenshade4059: Gina bruno was awful, good riddance, maybe they will go back and fix the damn game.

Solrac_Royal: Eso is safe, moving on.

Spookyblue92: I still have so many quests and stories to finish in ESO. if this game ever shuts down I’ll be very very sad

twofarg0ne763: I will play until they turn off the servers.

gorlokin: You've started making these videos again, questioning the future of ESO. It's cyclical and exhausting. No, ESO is not in danger. It's a great time for new players, just as it is for veterans. There are problems at Microsoft and Xbox, but despite the layoffs, nothing indicates that it will affect ESO. In fact, a large number of the layoffs is similar to the number of people who were assigned to the canceled MMO, and now ESO has the same number of devs it originally had. These videos generate views, and I HATE having to react, but it's getting tiresome.

brianthomassummers9770: You still have to pay for a crafting bag? If so, nothing has changed.

Barlin-d2j: The core of the game, combat and balancing, is completely broken. ZOS doesn´t learn and made everything WAY WORSE with recent updates (subclassing, DK, WW, class mastery) - again increasing the dmg output. PvP was the first victim, PVE followed... PVE overland content got so easy/boring that new difficulty settings were added (instead of just fixing the balancing). It is a band-aid, but the wound underneath is still bleeding...

ZOS has worked on a new MMO - which got cancelled and no more new chapters/DLCs are going to be released. So... layoffs/reorganizing teams is only normal. I do not understand all this drama about the layoffs. They won´t be the end of the game - the bad game design/marketing choices and greed will be ;)

Bethesda and ZOS working together sounds like marketing for the new Elder Scrolls single player game. ESO is a MMO, and hence aligning it more with a single player game, doesn´t sound good. ESO should focus on its own genre, a massively multiplayer (rp) game.

I think layoffs and changes in the team have been long overdue. Microsoft should have started with the people responsible for combat/balancing though...

The game is a mess. And after years of experiencing this mess I am mostly done with ESO. I only log in, from time to time, since many other MMO projects (like ashes of creation, camelot unchained etc.) all failed other MMOs got cancelled... So not many alternatives left. Sad times for MMO fans...

It is quite ironic that Hack´s comment here is advertisement for an "Unkillable Magicka Templar Build, updated for Class Mastery with SIX Damage Shield" - again, it is a broken game. And a dead man walking. Thousands of players already left. Big ESO-content creators/youtubers left. The players still bothering logging in often play alone and stick to themselves - that is cancer to a multiplayer game. Chats of 500-people-guilds are more dead than chats of 10 people groups in other groups. Many old players seemingly only log in for dailies and events. PvP is now horrible and PVE is just repetitive boring grind. ESO seemingly always just copied other MMOs/games (badly) (for example DaoC, WoW etc.). In 10 years no new gameplay/features where added. No diving, sailing, flying, no guild houses etc. - at the same time ESO has been more expensive to keep up with (several DLCs and 1 chapter each year subscription for inventory space = 200-300 dollars each year ?) than most other MMOs. The game has paywalls, p2w and laggy servers (cyro) and bugs (stuck in combat, group finder etc.) haven´t been fixed- even after a decade !!!! That isn´t good work.

In general ESO seems to lack an identity and clear direction in development. A MMO without focus on multiplayer ? Who is the target-audience/customer-base here ? What makes ESO unique and stand out ?

I don´t see ESO outliving WoW. With or without the layoffs. Too many bad choices have been made. The devs seemingly do not play/know their own game. They often made changes without asking or listening to the players (best example: subclassing). You reap what you sow.

I do believe that there are different ways to extend ESO´s lifespan and improve the gameplay experience - but i do not believe that ZOS is the company able to do it.

99-Zulu: I miss the old days where tanks and healers were more prominent in dungeons. Now it's just a mostly dps check. Dps queuing up in tank or healer slots has ruined it IMO.

Dungeons like Fungul Grotto II's final boss essentially one shotting dps unless the healer can sustain the heal through that blast was a fun non-dps check or Elden Hollows II's final boss actually having some bite when it slammed down to the ground to clear the flames. Some of the DLC dungeons have some fun support check mechanics, but ultimately if you have a superior dps check, it doesnt matter.

Albeit, having a different weapons class like spear or sword and wand/book or a arcane warrior class would be fun. A class where it adds an aspect over weapons and armor to enhance the effectiveness. Similarly to the dragon aspect shout in Skyrim.

chiefexecutive: XBOX FILED FOR 5000 H-1B VISAS TO BRING IN MIGRANT WORKERS

taylor65712: I don't think they will kick the game into maintenance until they see if ES6 can pull it's own weight. So, Microsoft is pushing ES6 to release around 28/29, ESO safe until 30/31.

WDMurphy: When I log in to the game, I can't find things to do that I enjoy.

EvilMatt-r3i: yah its dead

PapaDeusVult: The game isn't dying. The data released by ZOS regarding the lay-offs cite that many of those removed were either in redundant positions that simply created unnecessary levels of bureaucracy that bottlenecked progress or are members of the team that players themselves have found insufferable or unlikeable for the longest time.

And let's not even get started on the fact that the bloat on the ESO team was caused by employees from the cancelled Project Blackbird where instead of laying off those employees, they just restructured them into the ESO team regardless of their experience/knowledge of the MMO and the franchise itself.

Their current team strength is what it was when Wrothgar and Summerset were made. Here's finally their chance to create a swifter content cadence without all the redundant employees clogging the pipeline

HouseTre007: This guy glazing Gina Bruno and Bryan Wheeler tells me everything I need to know. "Quick guys we can't lose players to panic, direct the content creators to put out cope content!". Fact of the matter is that ESO is not going to die any time soon, but it is well past its prime and clearly on a MAJOR downturn, these are the twilight years for the game.

ITPalGame: I'm an original beta player with just Summerset and max level 7 and a level 4 or 5.

I recently gained access to a pc again and installed.

darthmorbous: Werewolves online. BGs ruined. Dared to come back after 2 years...I regretted it almost immediately. Unsubbed and bye.

Jannah_2k: Dead game. Everyone who is not in copium can do math how minimal amount content there will be in future. Now some say "B-but there is now same amount of people as during Summerset!".. well, why did they not even before the layoffs with even more than that did any content than couple poop events for 2 years? How much content did you get in 2025 and so far in 2026? Yes, thats is the reality. You will get even less than almost nothing you got so far since they cancelled yearly Chapters and went to maintenance mode.

janbilek6984: ESOs faces the same future as LOTRO and The Old Republic. We’re now at the beginning of what’s called “harvesting,” or what we know as “maintenance mode.” The goal is to minimize investment while trying to squeeze as much as possible out of the existing player base. There will be new content, but it will be released very infrequently and on a very small scale. We’ll see more and more reuse of existing assets. The game is dead for the future. Anyone who thinks otherwise—or those who are high on copium and actually think this will be good for the game... You’re lost.

DarkStar1983: I have played ESO since May 2014 during the Beta. With news of the layoffs I finally unsubbed. I was a whale in the crown store. The thing that I do not understand is that it took them literally 10 years to make ANY class update changes and ANY weapon update changes. Overland difficulty was a complaint way back in the day and they just NOW got to fixing it. PVP is still dogshit imo. So what were they doing this entire time? Right now DK's will ruin any other class they go against in BG's/CYRO. There is no competition. I unsubbed back when all this came about and am now patiently waiting for Monsters & Memories to come out in October. Until then I'll play EverQuest Legends. I spent a long time playing ESO millions in the bank and I've done all vet/hm trials and dungeons. Definitely things I loved about the game and definitely alot of complaints that caused MANY people to leave the game entirely years ago because there were no fixes in sight. Now, I don't know what's going to happen but I do not want to keep playing a game that has no future.

sk8legendz: The quality assurance testers either weren't doing their job or we are in for a rough ride

RobotBoyParza: I used to watch you way back in the day when I played ESO, and I immediately clicked when I saw your video!

I've been looking to hop back in, but everyone making these videos is scaring me lol

renorockbell: Hi, I really loved the video, and it cleared up a lot of questions in my guild. Do you know if there's any chance of a PvP balance update? It feels like Werewolves and Dragonknights are way too overpowered right now.

hanknorris5642: I think the game will be ok. It is in better shape than a lot of other MMOs. My main concern is how long it will take to get new content. I hope we still get the new zone (eastern skyrim) a new dark brotherhood storyline, class refresh and even vampire refresh. Maybe two new companions. We'll see.

xboxgamerz22: They should released two class reworked now than anything

Adrunkopossem: ESO is not dead! But, it's redemption arc is being cut short by Microsoft. And I fear we're going to start sliding backwards again. Which makes me incredibly sad

NoticingThingsAmiss: It makes money.. this WHOLE issue effects the cretins that have basically been stealing their paychecks for a decade.. it isnt going anywhere until it stops being lucrative…

rileywintermute: Indie studios this year have taught us the market isn't volitile at all as you claim. Microsoft just bet xbox on it's ai success being able to shoulder of covering xbox's losses and the reality is Microsoft is never going to lead in ai and now it's never going to lead in gaming. I saw this all coming when the first game pass increase happened. None of their big studios are going to survive these cuts. neither is xbox. you won't see the death right away. But pay VERY close attention to what happens with the new Gears of War game. There is zero chance that game even breaks even despite almost half a billion in development costs. More cuts will happen then and will continue with every game release that doesn't wildly produce profit. None of Microsoft's games are making any money. Asha Sharma was the widowmaker for Satya Nadella the whole time.

Jul 27 2026

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