Zenimax Online Studios Reportedly Suffers Second Wave of Massive Microsoft Layoffs in a Year, with "up to Half" of Devs Impacted
The cuts reportedly leave ZeniMax Online with up to half its staff gone and push Xbox to focus on its biggest franchises.
- On Monday, Xbox announced 1,600 immediate layoffs, with 3,200 expected by fiscal year-end, heavily impacting ZeniMax Online Studios, where sources claim "up to half" the team was let go.
- Bethesda plans to "meaningfully evolve" operations by shifting focus toward strongest franchises—Doom, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Quake, and Wolfenstein—justifying cuts as necessary for "improving long-term growth."
- The company canceled Project Blackbird, an in-development MMO, triggering the ZeniMax Online Studios founder's resignation, as Kotaku described the cuts as "brutal" for the studio.
- Community manager JessicaFolsom posted that The Elder Scrolls Online remains committed to Season One's launch, though the roadmap for updates beyond it is "shifting" with no timeline details yet provided.
- While Xbox prioritizes The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, Starfield was notably absent from discussed priorities, and The Elder Scrolls 6 remains in development though still years away from release.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Long-Running Elder Scrolls MMORPG Faces Uncertain Future Following Xbox Layoffs
Ahead of any official confirmation about Xbox’s sweeping layoffs, many assumed Bethesda & The Elder Scrolls would be largely unscathed. After all, The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the most anticipated games out there, right alongside GTA 6. But while Bethesda itself is safe from shutting down, that doesn’t mean layoffs haven’t impacted the […]
Bethesda hit hard by Xbox layoffs — Elder Scrolls Online team 'gutted'
On Monday, Xbox announced it was laying off 1,600 employees, with 3,200 in total to be laid off by the end of its fiscal year. Xbox is divesting from four studios, with the future of a fifth, Dishonored developer Arkane Studios, still unknown.
The Elder Scrolls Online Has Reportedly Lost 'As Much as Half' of Its Development Team as Its Roadmap Is Being Re-Evaluated
"As much as half" of the team working on The Elder Scrolls Online has been laid off, according to a report from Kotaku, leading many to wonder how the game will continue.Earlier today, Microsoft began carrying out its "reset" of the Xbox brand by laying off thousands of employees. Although no studios are shutting down, many are being offloaded from Xbox and being sold to other companies or given the chance to go independent. Bethesda is also exp…
The Elder Scrolls Online's Future Looks Bleak as Dev 'Decimated' by Xbox Layoffs
Previously revealed roadmaps will change.If you’re a fan of The Elder Scrolls Online, then you may want to brace yourself for a bleaker future, as the team at Zenimax Online Studios has been “decimated” by Xbox’s recent layoffs.As we reported earlier with regards to both Obsidian and id Software, Microsoft may have avoided studio closures, but its 1,600 job losses this week has cut many of its studios to the bone.Read the full article on pushsqu…
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