The Elder Scrolls Online was well in developent but Skyrim came out and its success changed everything as everyone wanted the same success.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the most influential games in the history of gaming. Released in 2011, the game featured an open world that was filled with the kind of storytelling and player freedom that set a new benchmark for role-playing games at the time.

It was just too big to not imitate. | Image Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

And this success was a big part of why ZeniMax Online Studios, the developers of The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) had to make some changes to the game. What was supposed to be a traditional MMO in the veins of World of Warcraft quickly changed to become similar to the immersive, player-focused world that Skyrim had perfected.

Skyrim‘s launch had a bigger effect on the industry than you think

A lot of developers were inspired by its success. | Image Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

When Zenimax Online Studios began developing ESO in 2007, it was supposed to be something of an “Elder Scrolls with friends” concept according to creative director Rich Lambert. In theory, this sounds great and you’ll certainly agree because Skyrim was the talk of the town, and being able to do all that with friends was an amazing idea.

Despite this though, the gameplay still leaned heavily on traditional MMO mechanics, such as third-person perspectives, tab-targeted combat, and rigid quest structures. Matt Firor, the studio’s president, spoke to Eurogamer last year on the 10th anniversary of ESO’s release and gave a lot of insights into the development of the game.

Firor recalls how early development was shaped by what he calls “Gen 2 MMO” design, where players interacted more with on-screen interfaces than the game world itself. But everything changed when Skyrim launched in 2011 because not only was it immensely successful, but it also changed what it meant to be an Elder Scrolls game.

After Skyrim came out, it was pretty clear that a ‘Gen 2 MMO’ was not a viable product. Skyrim was so good and it would reach parts of culture that games very rarely reach and so we knew we had to change. And those changes were for the better.

The team at Zenimax quickly realized their MMO, as initially designed, could no longer meet the expectations of us players who had just gotten wowed by Skyrim. And this realization brought about a number of changes for the better.

The changes weren’t all for the best though

You can’t do two things at once. | Image Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

One of the biggest changes that Firor talked about was the change from third-person to first-person gameplay. This is what prompted the developers to completely rebuild ESO’s combat systems to make it go from tab-targeting to open free-form combat. Players could now swing swords and shoot arrows in first-person, just like Skyrim.

ESO also switched to Skyrim‘s grittier, more realistic art style, moving away from the cartoonish looks that MMOs had at the time. The team also decided to include fully voiced NPCs in response to Skyrim‘s cast of characters. The original plan for ESO included “great walls of text,” but the team scrapped it.

Despite all these changes, ESO’s launch in 2014 was met with mixed reviews. At the time, most of us had one big complaint. The game tried too hard to be two different things. It tried too hard to be an MMO and an Elder Scrolls title. Studio director Rich Lambert admitted to Rock Paper Shotgun, “We were walking this weird line between ‘online game’ and ‘Elder Scrolls game.’ We didn’t do either of them particularly well.“

What do you think about it? Do you still enjoy playing Skyrim? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!