[UPDATE] It looks like the issue has been identified and ZOS is working with Sony to implement a fix. Due to the interruption, the Jubilee Event is being extended on all platforms.
Update: We've identified the issue and are working with Sony to deploy a fix as soon as possible. It may take 24-48 hours for the realms to come back online. (1/2) https://t.co/oMjlcwTs2L
— The Elder Scrolls Online (@TESOnline) April 5, 2021
Original story below.
During maintenance today, ZeniMax Online Studios announced that the PlayStation MegaServer of their wildly popular MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online, would be facing extended downtime due to issues found specific to the platform. However, players are showing their discontent as this is the second time the PlayStation version of the MMO has had these extended downtimes in as many weeks.
Dowtimes are nothing new to MMORPGs. Server maintenance, bug fixes and more can bring servers down for prescheduled times, or even unexpectedly. Last week the PlayStation megaserver of The Elder Scrolls Online went down for an extended time period versus the other platforms, with the PS4 servers coming back online more than three hours after their Xbox counterparts after maintenance. This week it seems to be much the same picture, though the development team at ZOS is providing some additional information this time about what is causing the problem.
"Update: We wanted to provide more information about the current issue surrounding PlayStation maintenance. This morning while we were testing the build, we discovered some pretty severe hitching that was rendering the game unplayable that only impacts PlayStation builds," The Elder Scrolls Online's official Twitter account posted this morning. Since then the downtime for the PlayStation server has been extended till 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific, leaving Sony players in the lurch while the issue gets resolved.
We’ve been working with Sony to identify the root cause and get the issue resolved, and we want to get everyone back in-game as quickly as we can. We’ll let you know when we have an update on this. Thanks for your ongoing patience today. (2/2)
— The Elder Scrolls Online (@TESOnline) April 5, 2021
Naturally, due to the issues last week and now this week, PS4 players haven't been too happy about the continued downtime. One forum user pointed out that the last two weeks their subscription has been rendered unusable for 20 hours this month, time they are paying to be able to play. Some Twitter users in response to the thread posted by ZOS have asked for compensation, meaning for both those players who pay the ESO Plus sub, as well as the fact that the Jubilee event is currently ongoing, meaning players are losing time to take part in the event.
Some players are also tin-foil hatting on Reddit the theory that because ZeniMax is now owned by Microsoft, this must be the explanation why this issue is happening on Sony's platform. As of the writing of this post, the megaservers have been down for about 12 hours on PlayStation.
Right now the maintenance is planned to end at 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific, however the team could push that back as they've already done today with previous deadlines. While the team is communicating some of what is going on, some users are interested in a more detailed explanation, especially why this seems to affect PS4 users specifically right now.