Another Elder Scrolls Game Is in Jeopardy as Xbox Layoffs Hit Heads of Major Studio
Leadership cuts at ZeniMax Online Studios follow 1,600 Xbox layoffs, raising concerns that The Elder Scrolls Online development could slow, staff said.
- A WARN Act notice filed with Maryland showed 379 layoffs across Microsoft and subsidiary ZeniMax offices on July 15, with over 200 cuts at ZeniMax Online Studios, responsible for The Elder Scrolls Online.
- Earlier this month, Xbox outlined plans to cut over 3,200 staff this fiscal year, calling it "the most significant restructure" in company history. Teams are currently experiencing 1,600 layoffs this month.
- Studio head Joe Burba will depart after 14 years at the company, with Josh Henderson and Nick Giacomini stepping in to co-run ZeniMax Online. Senior roles including Studio Operations Director and Vice President and Controller were also cut.
- Senior encounter designer Morgan Goin expressed concerns that content production speeds will decline significantly. Community manager Kevin Gbolie reassured fans that "the plan is still to deliver great content, and we will hopefully have an update soon."
- ZeniMax Online's workforce has shrunk by approximately 40% compared to 2024 following successive layoff rounds. The studio maintains a healthy content roadmap for The Elder Scrolls Online through year's end.
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18 Articles
Another Elder Scrolls game is in jeopardy as Xbox layoffs hit heads of major studio
Earlier this month, Xbox outlined plans to lay off over 3,200 staff throughout this fiscal year, in what it called "the most significant restructure" in the company's history. Today, as originally reported by Game File, we've learned that over 200 of those layoffs are happening at ZeniMax Online Studios, the team responsible for The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO).
Xbox Layoffs Claim Four More Victims and Leave The Elder Scrolls Online Reeling
ZeniMax Online Studios is losing its entire senior leadership team following Microsoft’s latest restructuring measures, with the studio director and several key The Elder Scrolls Online executives all departing. A new management group will gradually assume control, although the developer insists that support for the MMO and work on future updates will continue. The consequences of Xbox’s ongoing restructuring are still unfolding inside ZeniMax…
The "bloodbath" continues at Xbox, which has just announced a new wave of layoffs at ZeniMax Online Studios, creators of The Elder Scrolls Online.
Microsoft’s mass layoffs see a fresh management turnover for top MMORPG Elder Scrolls Online
We’re getting a much clearer picture of the fallout from Microsoft’s decision to lay off hundreds of employees from Bethsoft and ZeniMax Online Studios’ enormously successful Elder Scrolls Online team earlier this month. We already knew that a total of 379 people had been axed thanks to the WARN Act filing published by Maryland’s Department […]
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