ZeniMax Online Studios founder and Matt Firor, who has led the development of The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO), is departing the company.
Firor shared the news in a statement on X (previously known as Twitter) and explained he will exit "later this month." Following his departure, the studio will be led by Jo Burba as studio head, Susan Kath as executive producer, and Rich Lambert as game director.
"Together, this leadership team has spearheaded many of ESO's biggest ideas and expansions and will continue to make this game something we're all proud of," Firor wrote. "While I won't be working on the game anymore, I will be cheering you on and adding to the thousands of hours I've already spent in-game."
Firor didn't explain why he is departing the studio he established in 2007. It will, however, be a notable loss for the company and owner Microsoft, with Firor having spent almost two decades turning ZeniMax Online Studios into what he describes on Linkedin as a "world-class online game development studio."
The news comes shortly after Microsoft commenced its latest round of layoffs at Xbox with an undisclosed number of job cuts. The layoffs have reportedly impacted several projects across Xbox's roster of internal studios. As noted by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, the cuts also impacted an MMORPG that had been in development at ZeniMax Online Studios since 2018.
Last year, ZeniMax Online Studios announced that Elder Scrolls Online would be pivoting from annual expansions to a seasonal model. As Firor wrote at the time, seasons are expected to run for "three or six months," and the move from yearly expansions is designed to make life easier for the studio. The announcement took place mere days after 461 employees at the studio formed a union to deliver "protections against layoffs and workplace exploitation."
It remains unclear how many workers at ZeniMax Online Studios have been laid off by Microsoft.
