iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

That's exactly right. Everything is awful for everyone right now.

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I understand and support the motivation to reassure #ESOfam that the game has a future. It absolutely does! But in the days following these latest layoffs, I've seen that message communicated publicly in a way that does a disservice to those devs who love ESO but no longer have a job. 7/7

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The latest round of layoffs at ZOS did not land proportionally. Entire departments have been gutted. ZOS doesn't have the same productive capabilities it had in June 2026 *OR* in March 2018, and the support that ESO requires today is much different than it was 8 yeas ago. Microsoft doesn't care. 6/7

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The point is, total headcount is meaningless — adequate resources and expertise being deployed to the right disciplines is what actually matters. Every game developer knows this. The argument that ZOS has the "same studio size as Wrothgar and Summerset" is offensively misleading. 5/7

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Without LiveOps and NOC, no live-service updates would *ever* ship. And without Operations, none of the other teams would have the resources or infrastructure to do their work in the first place. 4/7

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There would be no art, no animation, no systems support, no code, and no story. Without producers, there'd be no development timeline or release date. Without QA, anything that somehow shipped would be unbroken and completely unplayable. Without Marketing, no one would ever hear about it. 3/7

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Lucas Slominski @lucas.slominski.art · 11/08/2025

Total developer headcount is a terrible metric for a studio's productive capabilities (which is a fact these individuals fully understand). A studio with a staff entirely composed of, say, ~200 combat designers would be unable to ship *anything.* 2/7

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The moon has a surface area of approx. 37,930,000 sq km. We can share.

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Reposted by Lucas Slominski

ZOS United-CWA @zosunited.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

On July 2nd, Microsoft announced they were shelving an unannounced project at ZOS, a shock to over 200 of our devs working on the project. However, despite discussions regarding the status of our employment, the fact is: we have not yet been laid off. Our full statement can be found below.

First part of the ZeniMax Online Studio United-CWA statement that reads,

Earlier this month, Microsoft indefinitely shelved an unannounced MMORPG at ZeniMax Online Studios, a shock to the 222 ZOSU-CWA developers working on the project. It has been heartening and validating to see our game mentioned in the press and by players that would have loved to see the results of our work.

Undoubtedly, a future has been stolen from many of us and our community will never experience an amazing game. However, despite discussions regarding the status of our employment, the fact is: we have not yet been laid off.

While we understand that for most of us something like a layoff is inevitable, last December both the teams behind The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) and the unannounced project voted overwhelmingly to form a union and establish ZeniMax Online Studios United-CWA (ZOSU-CWA). Worker-volunteers elected to represent the interests of our union are currently bargaining with Microsoft for the benefit of our impacted teammates.

While Microsoft and ZOSU-CWA bargain over how we move forward following the project closure, the developers behind the unannounced project remain employees of ZeniMax Online Studios with full pay and benefits.

Second part of the ZeniMax Online Studio United-CWA statement that reads: On July 2nd, our lives were upended without prior notice or communication from Microsoft leadership and without clear understanding about the status of our employment. In light of this, our union came together with urgency, gathering and distributing information and resources to our affected members.

Where Microsoft has failed to support the talented craftspeople who have generated billions in revenue, our union has stepped up to provide clarity and support.

It is true that a layoff may be in the future for some of our members. However, as a result of our organizing, we are able to ensure that those impacted will be able to depart with dignity.

More importantly, the work of ZOSU-CWA will continue so that our remaining teammates — the stalwart developers of ESO — can follow in the footsteps of our colleagues across other departments and studios at Microsoft, including our union siblings at ZeniMax Workers United (ZWU-CWA). We look forward to other units who will soon ratify fair contracts that will guarantee the rights we all deserve.

In solidarity,
ZeniMax Online Studios United-CWA (ZOSU-CWA)

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Reposted by Lucas Slominski

Lady Nerevar @ladynerevar.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Another fantastic talk by @lucas.slominski.art was his 2019 GDC presentation that walked through the creation of ESO key art, and how he balances creative and directorial requirements. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvDV...

youtube.com

Illustrating Tamriel: Creating Key Art for The Elder Scrolls Online

YouTube video by Game Developers Conference

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Lucas Slominski @lucas.slominski.art · 12/07/2025

Thank you, this genuinely means a lot to me! The layoffs, combined with the cancellation of the new project, have been pretty devastating, and like many artists, my brain spends a lot of effort trying to convince me that I'm not very good. I really appreciate your kind words! ❤️

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Lucas Slominski @lucas.slominski.art · 05/07/2025

But I really want to emphasize that, for every dev name that fans recognize, there are dozens of incredibly talented creatives you've never heard of working right alongside them. The caliber of endless talent that was collected on this team would simply blow people's minds. (2/2)

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Lucas Slominski @lucas.slominski.art · 05/07/2025

Thank you for the support! Matt is a true leader who genuinely always had our backs. Leamon is an extraordinary creative mind, and he and I collaborated extensively on this amazing project, helping to build an original world that no one will ever get to see now. (1/2)

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Lucas Slominski @lucas.slominski.art · 03/07/2025

Was my position eliminated in the latest round of Microsoft layoffs? That should be an easy question to answer, but I have yet to receive any communication from my employer whatsoever. My work-related accounts were abruptly deleted yesterday without any notice while I was on vacation.

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Just an invented character, because I didn't want to reduce a named NPC to a sexualized prop for Stibbons.

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Naryu's hair is blocking Vikord's chin braid, so admittedly there isn't much to go on when trying to identify him. 😆

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The one in the first image is an unnamed Dark Seducer. The second one is Vikord Skullcleaver!

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Months and months of digital painting, impossibly squeezed into a minute-long timelapse. 🙃

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Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you found me again here. 🙂

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Sooo much of both of those! There's a lot I could say about it, but I'll save it for tomorrow's livestream.

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Thank you! I accept your generous offer! 🤑

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It's been awhile #ESOfam, but I painted something for you. Happy anniversary @elderscrollsonline.com! ❤️

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