The Elder Scrolls Online studio Zenimax Online hit with layoffs

Just five months after The Elder Scrolls Online MMO went live, developer ZeniMax Online Studios has laid off an unspecified number of employees.

The layoffs at ZeniMax Online were confirmed by Pete Hines, vice president of PR and marketing at publisher Bethesda Softworks. "As is the norm for games of this type, we had ramped up a large workforce to develop a game of vast scale, and ramped up our customer service to handle the expected questions and community needs of The Elder Scrolls Online at launch," he said in a statement sent to Joystiq . "Now that we are nearly 6 months post launch, we have a thriving online community in a game that runs smoothly."

"We remain strongly committed to The Elder Scrolls Online, and continue to invest heavily to develop new content for PC players, prepare the game for its console launch, and handle our planned expansion into important international territories," he said.

The number of employees affected by the layoffs was not revealed.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.