I have been in the video game industry for 20 years and in that time, I have never worked for a CEO like Robert Altman. I had maybe met him twice and not sure he would’ve known me if he saw me but that is not the point. (1/15) https://twitter.com/bethesda/status/1357381333907955712?s=20

I can’t remember a person in his position that put so much faith and trust in the people that worked for him and I will give a couple of anecdotes to try and highlight what it means to employees to have someone at the top like Mr. Altman.

(2/15)

We launched ESO in 2014 and it was rough. We were not where we hoped to be and the game was savaged by reviewers. Being an industry veteran, I was fearful of what this could lead to. Often times, you have one shot to prove yourself and a small window of evaluation. (3/15)

MANY big industry publishers would have cut and run at that point, laying off lots of folks and all but mothballing the game. This was a scary time for ZOS. In steps Robert, who goes to Matt and Rich and asks what the plan is. (4/15)

Not because he wanted to cut us off or shutter us but because he believed in the game, the studio AND the people. Matt and Rich outlined a plan to him on how to make ESO the game we knew it could be. This was not a small plan mind you. (5/15)

This was a multi-year, multi-initiative plan which involved hiring, payment model changes, etc. It was ambitious and a big ask. Robert heard them out and said… Yes. I can’t describe to you what that means as a member of the studio when the CEO of a major publisher, (6/15)

puts his faith in us to execute and do what we do best. It invigorated us and engendered the kind of loyalty you don’t often see to a studio and company. We set to work, remaking ESO and over the years, I think Robert took pride in what we did. (7/15)

He never failed to mention the work we put in to morph ESO and never took credit though, it had a lot to do with his faith in us.

Flash forward to the pandemic, early March 2020. No one in the company knew how bad this was or was going to be. (8/15)

We were not sure what this meant for us or how work was going to change. In steps Robert and Zenimax and does something we all did not expect… he sent us home. Setting aside the loss of revenue, and slipped dates, and cost associated with transitioning employees to home. (9/15)

He told us… Go home, be safe, take care of yourself and your family and remain healthy. He did this before the state mandates and work from home rules. Again, this is one of those moments that highlighted how Robert viewed the people that worked for him. (10/15)

He wanted us to be safe and healthy and the financials would work themselves out. Not only that but every week, EVERY, SINGLE, WEEK during the pandemic, he sent out an email to the entire company, every studio, to keep us updated on what was happening with the company, (11/15)

Shifting timeframes for return, etc. He always told us, from the start, that we would return when it was safe according to science, not before. Again, the impact of this on how we all view the company and our senior management and leaders can not be understated. (12/15)

Its something I know I tout in interviews with potential candidates (we matter to the company) and just speaking to coworkers. It is an enduring message that at Zenimax, people MATTER.

Robert’s legacy for me is not about financials or how well this or that game was. (13/15)

Its about how much faith he placed in us, how much he valued the employees in every studio and how much loyalty he garnered. He was the best CEO I ever worked for and I hope other CEOs can look to his examples of valuing people, as something to strive for. (14/15)

You will be missed Robert, by more people than you knew but nevertheless touched.

My thoughts are with his family, friends and all employees of Zenimax that will miss his guiding light.
(15/15)