United Kingdom, Jan. 20 -- The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios has pushed back against suggestions that the MMO's move away from large annual expansions is linked to last year's mass layoffs at parent company Microsoft.

The studio confirmed last week that The Elder Scrolls Online will no longer follow its traditional paid DLC expansion model, instead shifting to smaller, free seasonal updates released more frequently.

The announcement came amid ongoing scrutiny of Microsoft's 2025 restructuring, which saw more than 9,000 roles cut across the business and resulted in the cancellation of several Xbox projects, including ZeniMax Online's unannounced sci-fi MMO, Project Blackbird.

Executive producer Susan Kath said th...