ZeniMax Online Studios’ new Xbox IP is being created by almost 200 developers

What you need to know

• ZeniMax Online Studios, the studio behind The Elder Scrolls Online, is currently working on a new IP.
• According to an interview with Ben Jones, creative director of the game, this new IP has been in development for four and a half years.
• Jones notes that he leads the design team of 50 people, and that the game is now being worked on by a team of almost 200 developers in total.

ZeniMax Online Studios is continuing to chug away at its new IP, and it’s clear that this game is getting a lot of internal resources even as little is publicly known about just what this game will be.

Speaking on the Product Builders Podcast (opens in new tab) (as noticed by @bogorad222 (opens in new tab) on Twitter), creative director Ben Jones talked about some of the work that is going into this new IP, including how he’s been working on it for the past four and a half years. Jones shared that the design team he leads consists of about 50 people, while the greater development team working on the game consists of almost 200 developers. 

Jones also notes that this team is spread “all over the globe” and that the game is a “considerable investment and a very large-scope project,” which lines up with prior scarce details on the game. Of the 200 developers, Jones says that around half are working remotely. The director also adds that the story has changed multiple times over the game’s development, saying that “You could create great art, but if there isn’t a good story to connect with that art, it’s gonna fall short, and vice-versa.”

ZeniMax Online Studios has expanded over the last couple of years, transitioning to allow remote work and opening new satellite teams like in San Diego, in order to support the main studio that is located in Maryland, U.S.

This new game has been described as a AAA game with a new engine, but otherwise, little is currently known. As Bethesda Softworks is part of the Xbox first-party organization, this new IP will naturally launch across Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Windows PC, but we’ll have to wait to find out more. 

Outside of this new IP, ZeniMax Online Studios is continuing to support The Elder Scrolls Online, with the recent Firesong DLC closing out the Legacy of the Bretons storyline, which was centered around the High Isle expansion.