Not all games in the Elder Scrolls universe have achieved success, despite their devoted fanbase. Five years after the last update, Bethesda has removed one of its projects from sale on Steam and intends to close it permanently.
The free-to-play card game The Elder Scrolls: Legends was released in 2017 and received good reviews from players, but failed to gain a sufficient audience. In 2019, Bethesda paused its development, ceasing to release add-ons. However, Legends still held in-game events and had single-player and multiplayer modes available for players.
However, yesterday the game was removed from sale on Steam, as evidenced by a message on the page. The Elder Scrolls: Legends itself has a notification that the servers will be closed on January 30, 2025. Sparkypants studio head Jason Coleman told PC Gamer that he doesn't really understand the reasoning behind the decision:
We were keeping the game running as needed in maintenance but that's been the extent of our role for some time. I don't really have any insight into the decision-making process. I'm sure lots of people, including those within ZeniMax, would like it to run forever. Regardless of the reasons, it's sad to see a game no longer available and I definitely feel for the players.
Bethesda has already found an alternative, though, in the form of another free-to-play Elder Scrolls game. The mobile version of The Elder Scrolls: Castles was recently released.