'Surprised there was anyone left to post this': Fans react as The Elder Scrolls Online debuts seasonal content days after hundreds laid off from studio

For the first time ever, seasonal content is here for The Elder Scrolls Online. Return of the Thieves Guild, its inaugural season, has launched for the long-running MMO, something you'd expect fans would be all abuzz for—if not for the fact that ZeniMax Online Studios has been gutted as part of the mass layoffs at Xbox this week.

Yeah, the timing on this one ain't great. The developer of the MMO, which has reportedly generated over $2 billion in its lifetime, has been hit especially hard. We learned this week that ZeniMax Online lost 213 employees this week, which when combined with more layoffs over the past 12 months, means the studio has lost more than half of the development team of TESO.

So, it's not surprising that this massive content drop has been met with little discussion of the season itself. Instead, players have mostly been sending well-wishes to the affected development team members—occasionally with a bit of ire for Microsoft.

"Surprised there was anyone left to post this," one commenter said in response to the Steam announcement of the season's launch. "So sorry for you guys. Hope you can keep the game going. Or better yet, find independence from MS."

"Heartbroken for all the developers who were laid off," said another. "Wishing the best for everyone. ♥️Hopefully this vicious cycle will end one day"

"ESO has wonderful, passionate developers behind it and to lose them breaks my heart!" another commenter wrote.

"To all those who got laid off, thanks for all the content you gave us, 5000 hours and counting," said another.

Not everyone was quite as polite. "May whoever fires talented people like you BURN IN HELL along with all of Microsoft," one commenter said. "I hope those who lost their jobs find companies more worthy of your talent."

The Return of the Thieves Guild trailer on YouTube got a similar reaction: not many people talking about the trailer itself, but mostly expressing warm sentiments to the developers.

"Like everyone else at Bethesda, you guys don't deserve what has happened to you, and I am very sorry," one commenter said. "Stay strong and keep up the good work."

Even non-fans were sympathetic: "I'm sorry, even though I wasn't that into ESO you guys deserved better," said another commenter. "I hope everyone affected by the layoffs lands on their feet."

And yes, there was a bit of chatter about the new season and how it looks—yet even those sentiments were still typically focused on the people who make the game.

"This game and all the work you've put into creating such engaging and beautiful art, content, and stories has brought my friends and I a lot of joy over the years," a YouTube commenter said. "I always look forward to hopping on and seeing what's new—there is literally something for everyone in this game. Can't wait to see what you all come up with next, I'm happy to keep supporting and I hope everyone that was cruelly and needlessly laid off finds great opportunities in their future."

And of course, a few in the YouTube comments were a little snarkier about the mass-layoffs from Microsoft, particularly in regard to the poorly-timed launch of Return of the Thieves Guild.

"Media guy must have scheduled this before he was banished to the shadow realm," the top comment reads.

"You can tell there's meant to be a voice-over here," a commenter said, "but bro got fired before he had the chance."

"I would say Microsoft is out there being the real thieves guild," another said, "but the thieves guild still values people's lives over profit."