Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 10/10/2026That thought haunts me as well. I’ll go 1946-2015 as there was steady progress during that time, but yeah, seems like we’re back the 1920-1940 period, which was batshit 130
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 10/10/2026And my apologies to Scott Jennings for so ruthlessly throwing him under the bus when I wrote this back in 2011. We all worked on a shoestring budget on technology that had never been before attempted. It’s amazing ANY of it worked… :) 220
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Today is the 25th Anniversary of the launch of one of the most important games I ever worked on: Dark Age of Camelot. It is insane to think it was that long ago - October 2001. Here’s a summary of that day written 15yrs ago kotaku.com/how-a-classic-mmo-surviv… 3215
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Good friends doing great things! I'm really excited to be an advisory member of this team. They are thinking about MMOs a little differently, and I love the direction! Check out their kickstarter that went online yesterday 062
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 01/09/2026This is a project I've had my eye on for a while. Jen and team are deeply experienced and are making a really cool interactive "FriendMO" (not MMO!). It's a cooperative Sandbox RPG for up to 16 friends to share and explore. Check it out and wishlist on Steam! 071
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Hard to believe it’s almost 25 years since Dark Age of Camelot launched way back in 2001. We’re going to focus on the European version of the game at Devcom in Cologne later this month. Camelot was always very popular in Europe, should be a great hour of old game dev and live service war stories 060
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 14/07/2026This makes me very happy and very sad at the same time. Great memories! ZOS was a very special place, and I hope over time more people realize it - it has been the launching pad for so many people in the industry, and of course (until last year!) a quiet stable home for so many 1211
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 12/07/2026I'm hardly an impartial observer (and am even name-checked in the article), but this article does a good job summing up the utter senselessness of the recent carnage at ZeniMax Online. Again, my heart goes out to everyone impacted, it is just so cruel and unnecessary www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/th...pcgamer.comThe Elder Scrolls Online's developer deserved better than to get sucker-punched by Microsoft twice in two years$2 billion over 10 years can't save you from Xbox. 49934
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 06/07/2026I am unbelievably shattered and heartbroken with the news coming out of ZenMax Online and Xbox in general today. The team at ZOS is made up of amazing, dedicated, smart - and above all, awesome humans. To see so many of them laid off today - and last year at this time - is just awful 719341
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 30/05/2026I'm ok. It was a great season for us, we won the league going away, and we had just as much chance of winning the CL final as PSG. I'll take that. We'll be back next season, stronger, and with more experience 100
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 19/05/2026I’ve been an Arsenal fan since the mid 1990s when I spent a couple of weeks in Inslington, North London, I stayed about two blocks from their stadium at that time, great memories! 010
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 02/05/2026Thanks! That’s very humbling to hear, I’m always grateful to have worked on games that are so special to people. Community is the #1 feature, always 030
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 01/05/2026This was a fun interview: reminisce about the "old days" of MMOG development, talk about some lessons learned, and what's happening right now in live service game development. Thanks to the guys at 80.lv for putting this together! 80.lv/articles/mat...80.lv40 Years of MMO Design Lessons From ESO’s Founding DirectorThe founder of ZeniMax Online Studios shares insights from decades of MMO development, covering ESO’s evolution, live service challenges, and what makes online worlds succeed long-term. 6102
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 29/04/2026I caught up with Ben Hanson from MinnMax for a chat about what I've been up to, and go over some recent and ancient history from my game dev career, including Dark Age of Camelot, Elder Scrolls Online, and the recently canceled ZOS "next" project. Thanks Ben and MinnMax! youtu.be/42I1imOrcfg?... 0563
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 25/04/2026This is amazing - having lived through those crazy weeks in 1989 it brought back a lot of memories, and then seeing what might have happened definitely shines a light on what could happen if we keep playing with fire and gasoline in our current foreign relations 030
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 28/03/2026Westminster MD shows up again! We’ll keep doing this as long as needed. #NoKings! 1150
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 03/03/2026I find screaming incoherently into the void helps as well 010
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 19/02/2026I described my thoughts on this soon after the game to my Arsenal Whatsapp group: "I'm happy we're top of the table but concerned about how we got there" This morning I'm still in that space. All is not lost, but much work needs to be done 000
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 06/02/2026This is unacceptable and must be denounced by every politician serving in office. The White House is already trying out excuses: "it's a meme!" "it's just a Lion King parody"! He knows he is failing and is becoming more and more erratic 110
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 30/01/2026Add this to my list of "this is unacceptable" actions by the current administration. Crude intimidation tactics made to play to the MAGA base to generate headlines to make it seem like the Admin is tough and in charge - when all they are doing is showing how weak and afraid they are 000
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 19/01/2026If this is not grounds for impeachment, what is? The President is not well, and this is unacceptable 080
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 12/01/2026Now is one of the most important times in the history of this country to stand up for the rule of law, and to stand against blatant misuse of power. I stand with Chairman Powell. 040
Reposted by Matt FirorGeorge Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 12/01/2026Let us all stand with Chairman Powell. 968331818661
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 01/01/2026Happy New Year everyone. I’ve been pretty quiet the last six months, but I posted this message on LinkedIn late yesterday just to give everyone an update. I’ll put it here just to make sure it gets around 1614624
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 23/12/2025The world was a better place with Vince in it. Just devastating news. Our paths crossed a few times, mostly socially, but he was very close friends with many people I hold dear, and my thoughts are with them and his family. 070
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 06/11/2025“No one is paying attention to me and I’m going to pout until they do.” 160
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 18/10/2025#nokings Westminster Maryland says NO KINGS - even more here now than in the last video from 30 minutes ago 0112
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 18/10/2025One again Westminster Maryland says NO KINGS! Turnout about 2X the size of the last protest - so happy to be out here representing sanity with so many others! 0222
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 24/07/2025Very sad to hear the news that Julian LeFay has passed. As one of the original creators of The Elder Scrolls series he was the lead developer on Arena and Daggerfall. I only met him once, and that was just in passing, so I didn't know him. His creation has had a profound impact on my career and life 310911
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 22/07/2025Such a huge part of my life, wow what a bolt out of the blue 020
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 14/06/2025No Kings! So says Westminster Maryland. Great to see so many people out for the rally 7868271339
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 13/06/2025He was great to work with on ESO! He had a lot of lines and a lot of not normally pronounced Elder Scrolls words and he handled it like a pro. So sorry he's gone, I still watch the ESO opening video from time to time, which is my favorite ESO performance of his 110
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 13/06/2025"I stare into my phone, where they store the horrors" is the perfect sentiment for our times 1150
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 13/06/2025"I look into my phone, where they store the horrors....." Fortunately the phone is also where they store Alexandra Petri - so glad to have her back on the job, but I wish she wasn't so on the nose about .... everything....theatlantic.comSo, What Did I Miss?“How much can possibly happen when I’m on parental leave?” I said five months ago. 040
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 11/06/2025Hey that was my Russian history textbook from "History of Russia I and II" back in the stone age/cold war era when I was in college. I still look into it from time to time to refresh myself on Russian/Soviet timelines and people 130
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 03/06/2025Also it is one of the best, tightest game designs ever and should be the basis of any game design class. The four simple systems working intertwined with one another is *chefs kiss* 010
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 03/06/2025I have an old ipad, forever frozen in time circa 2016 - forbidden from connecting to the internet and updating - just so I can play the Pirates Ipad version, which is one of the best versions of the game 010
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 13/05/2025I’ve watched the All Summer Long WMTSS episode about 20 times and it still cracks me up - it’s just perfect 020
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 09/05/2025It's Friday! That means the next in the series of Elder Scrolls Online's development history hosted by the guys at Kinda Funny. Hear about how we set up Tamriel in the early days of the project and much, much more www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRED...youtube.comThe Elder Scrolls Online Podcast - A Kinda Funny Gamescast Limited Series - Episode 3YouTube video by Bethesda Softworks 0114
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 28/04/2025Interesting. Garrett County feels like West Virginia, Central Maryland feels like generic United States, and the Eastern Shore feels like a very flat Southern Virginia, in every sense of those two words. It's hard to categorize Maryland as *anything* because it is a crossroads 020
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 27/04/2025It's been two weeks which means Ep. 2 of Kinda Funny's deep dive into Elder Scrolls Online's development history - in this one we talk about revenue models, server stability and much more. As always thanks to @gameovergreggy.bsky.social and the gang at Kinda Funny! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfct...youtube.comThe Elder Scrolls Online Podcast - A Kinda Funny Gamescast Limited Series - Episode 2YouTube video by Bethesda Softworks 081
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 22/04/2025I think it’s time to come to grips with the fact that we (Americans) have constructed an information firewall far more effective than the Chinese in keeping information we don’t want to see away from our screens. At least 50% of us have outsourced our firewall duties to Fox News, et al 040
Matt Firor @thefiror.bsky.social · 16/04/2025I gave the commencement speech at my high school just last year - what a surreal experience. I was literally on the stage where I got my diploma 38(?!?) years before. Have fun with it and savor the moment 010