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The Elder Scrolls Online News

ESO dev's new MMORPG, in the works for over seven years, has been canceled

Microsoft is today laying off 9,000 employees, and a decent chunk of those workers are part of the Xbox side of the business. Developers under the Xbox Game Studios banner are being squeezed, and The Elder Scrolls Online creator Zenimax Online Studios is among them. Despite being busy supporting ESO for many years, the studio has been toiling away at another project, reportedly codenamed Blackbird. However, due to this new round of layoffs, Blackbird - thought to be another ambitious MMO - has been canceled.


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The Elder Scrolls Online director Matt Firor, who helped launch ZeniMax Online Studios in 2007, is leaving the company




Matt Firor, president of ZeniMax Online Studios and game director of The Elder Scrolls Online, has announced that he is leaving the company...
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A new MMORPG from the Elder Scrolls Online devs has reportedly been cancelled as part of Microsoft's layoffs

Microsoft have reportedly cancelled an MMORPG that was in the works at ZeniMax Online Studios, developers of The Elder Scrolls Online, as part of the company's wider layoffs.


This is according to a post from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, which follows separate reports that the layoffs have seen the cancellation of Rare's Everwild. It very much looks like a pool of canned projects are accumulating at MS's feet as part of these cuts, though the company are still yet to confirm anything.


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The Vengeance Campaign Returns with Newly Revamped Skill Lines and Golden Pursuits!


The Vengeance Campaign returns with all-new options for use in mass battles across Cyrodiil.

Our effort to make Cyrodiil the best it can be continues—and you can help!

Participate in the updated Vengeance Campaign during its return on PC/Mac from today until July 8, 2025 to provide crucial data and feedback that will help shape the future of the Alliance War.

This time, console players can participate as well, offering information about console performance and enabling another segment of the community a chance to provide their feedback. The Vengeance campaign will run on consoles from today until July 9, 2025.

[h2]Vengeance Basics[/h2]
For those unfamiliar with the last round of testing in Vengeance, here’s a quick summary of how to participate and what the campaign entails. To enter:
  1. Navigate to the Alliance War menu
    1. Either by pressing L on your keyboard or navigating direct via the UI
  2. Select the Campaigns tab
  3. Select Cyrodiil and then the Vengeance campaign

The Vengeance campaign is open to all players level 10-50 and introduces a special ruleset to the Alliance War, templatizing player builds to help improve stability.
  • All players have normalized stats regardless of level
  • Each Class has a modified set of abilities and items
  • While in Vengeance, you cannot access your bank, vendors, or crafting nodes
  • Only Experience Points, Alliance Points, gold, and Champion Points are retained upon leaving the campaign, and no items can be taken out
  • The Champion System is disabled in this campaign
  • All quests are disabled in this campaign

Upon entering the campaign, your character is changed to match a specific template for their class. As mentioned above, this includes pre-determined abilities, attributes, consumables, and item sets. It also includes a backpack of supplies that cannot be removed from the campaign.

Return to Cyrodiil for a new test

Note that the templatizing of characters is an experiment and does not necessarily mean that these changes will be made to the Alliance War in the future. By introducing templatized characters for this specific test, we can isolate the variables that impact performance, helping us plan future improvements.

[h2]New Vengeance Skill Lines[/h2]
Whether Vengeance is new to you or a familiar warzone, you’ll find it a little changed this time around. Among the adjustments we’ve made after our last test are new Skill Lines included in the character templates. In addition to your templatized Class skills, you can also slot versions of skills from all Weapon skill lines and the Assault and Support Skill lines that offer better performance in mass battles.

During this test, you can unleash the elemental fury of a Destruction Staff, smash through shieldwalls with a mighty Two-Handed weapon, and more, all with significant improvements in how they perform amidst the chaos of Cyrodiil’s biggest battles.

[h2]Cyrodiil Scramble [/h2]
Not only can you help make Cyrodiil better, you’re rewarded for doing so! A new set of Golden Pursuits, Cyrodiil Scramble, is running alongside Vengeance with rewards of Alliance Points and Gold. Complete various PvP activities from today to July 8 to claim your rewards.

To earn everything on offer (including up to a total of 300,000 Alliance Points), you need to complete 8 activities out of the 12 on offer.

[h2]Fight for Cyrodiil’s Future[/h2]
Are you excited for the return of the Vengeance campaign? Will this be your first time entering the open-world warzone? Or are you already a hardened veteran of the Alliance War? Let us know your plans for battle via Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter)Instagram, and Facebook

ESO’s July 2025 Survival Guide


Discover future Worm Cult threats, claim Scribing for free, and battle it out during Whitestrake’s Mayhem—all in ESO this July!



Vengeance Campaign (June 30-July 8 PC/Mac, June 30-July 9 Consoles) 
The Vengeance Campaign’s second round of testing is ongoing, this time including Weapon, Assault, and Support skill lines revamped to improve performance. Read all about the campaign here, and keep fighting through July 8 (July 9 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles) to help us collect data and feedback. 



Golden Pursuits: Cyrodiil Scramble (June 30-July 8)
The Cyrodiil Scramble is on! This Golden Pursuit from June continues until July 8, so keep battling your fellow players to earn gold and Alliance Points.


Zeal of Zenithar In-Game Event (June 26-July 8)
The God of Commerce blesses those who continue their labors without flagging or failing, and so does his festival continue until July 8. Read the announcement blog for details on how you can benefit from Zenithar’s blessing.

Zeal of Zenithar continues into July

July 2025 Daily Login Rewards (July 1-31)
As you log in to the game this month, you can receive rewards each day including crafting materials and research scrolls, Luminous ink for Scribing, an adorably spooky pet, and more. You can see the full list of rewards in the game on July 1!


Update 47 Preview Livestream (July 1)
Get an early glimpse of the new dungeons and base-game changes coming with Update 47 by tuning into twitch.tv/Bethesda on Tuesday, July 1 at 2PM ET.

Discover two new dungeons

Feast of Shadows and Update 47 on the Public Test Server (July 7)

You can test the new dungeons, as well as other additions and improvements from Update 47, on the PC/Mac Public Test Server starting July 7.


Scribing Becomes Free (July 10)
The Scribing feature and all associated content becomes free for all players. Access it from July 10 onward by claiming the quest starter “The Second Era of Scribing” free in the in-game Crown Store.

Craft custom abilities with Scribing

Golden Pursuits: Scribing For All! (July 10-August 7)

A new Golden Pursuit can help you get started with the Scribing system if you haven’t tried it, or provide additional rewards to those who are already familiar. Participate to earn fundamentals of the art like gold, Luminous Ink, and a free Scribing Altar. Youcan also claim new Skill Styles, a pair of Flame Atronach Crown Crates, and more! Expect more details when it kicks off July 10.


Crazy King Weekend Mini-Event (July 10-15)
Carve a path through the Battlegrounds in a mad scramble for dominance as the Crazy King mode takes prominence from July 10 to 15. Participate in the featured queue for increased Alliance Point rewards! Note that there are no Event Tickets available throughout this period.


Whitestrake’s Mayhem In-Game Event (July 24-August 6)
Engage in PvP battles for glory and great rewards as Whitestrake’s Mayhem returns! Enjoy increases to Alliance Point and Tel Var Stone gains, earn event tickets, and claim new and returning rewards as you wreak mayhem.

Mayhem returns this July!

July is packed with exciting things to do and great rewards. Are you ready to pen new works of power with Scribing, or to do battle in the Whitestrake’s name? Let us know via Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter)Instagram and Facebook.