Bethesda Sibling ZeniMax Online Founding Ireland Office To Support 'Future MMOs'

Bethesda Softworks sibling ZeniMax Online Studios has yet to reveal any of its MMORPGs, but it is already making preparations for future launches. Hunt Valley, MD-based ZeniMax Online said Tuesday it is founding a new customer support facility in Galway, Ireland that will create "hundreds of jobs over the next several years." The new location will support "players of [ZeniMax Online] future massively multiplayer online games," the company said. ZeniMax Online is led by Mythic Entertainment co-founder Matt Firor, and falls under the umbrella of ZeniMax Media, owner of companies including Fallout and Elder Scrolls house Bethesda and Doom creator id Software. Heading up ZeniMax Online's global customer service operations is Rich Barham, director of customer support and formerly of World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment. "Today's announcement marks an important step for us," said Firor in a statement. "We are excited to be building an experienced team, led by Rich, which will focus on providing superior customer support for our games." He added, "Galway has world-class educational facilities, is a beautiful place to work and live, and offers a wide variety of benefits for our employees. Our ability to provide superior customer service for our future products is firmly on track." Barry O’Leary of Irish industrial development agency IDA Ireland praised the move, calling the new ZeniMax Online office "a very welcome addition to a cluster of companies across Ireland in a sector which is witnessing rapid growth."