The Elder Scrolls Online Studio Hires Mass Effect Dev

Zenimax Online, the company behind The Elder Scrolls Online, has hired former Mass Effect: Andromeda developer Colin Campbell as lead level designer. Campbell will be working on Zenimax’s new original IP, and will have a “major impact” on the game’s development, according to a tweet by Zenimax Online’s Creative Director Ben Jones.

Campbell hasn’t just worked on Mass Effect, though. The developer has helped creator many other major games, including the likes of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Campbell also frequently creates impressive artwork, so his skills will likely be a major benefit to whatever new IP Zenimax Online is currently working on.

Very little is known about Zenimax’s next game, other than it being a new IP with a new game engine. Early job listings for the title indicated that it will be some sort of live service game, though those have become increasingly common in the past few years, so there are a large number of possibilities as to what the game will look like.

While Mass Effect: Andromeda faced horrible technical issues at launch, there were some interesting concepts to be found for those that could get past the unpolished exterior, including some interesting level design. Plus, Campbell’s work on other, better-received games should also instill hope for whatever Zenimax Online launches next.

With E3 canceled, it’s hard to say when that will be. Bethesda isn’t planning a digital showcase, which is likely where Zenimax Online’s game would have shown up. It’s possible that the game is revealed with a simple trailer, but it’s hard to tell if that will actually end up being the case, or if Zenimax will just wait until the opportunity to show up on stage comes up.

Xbox is planning digital events, and if Zenimax’s project is a next-gen or cross-gen game, there’s a chance that it will show up there. Xbox is touting big reveals in the near future, and a major triple-a game could be just what the console needs, even if it isn’t truly exclusive. Fans will just have to wait and see.

The Elder Scrolls Online is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.