The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios has moved to reassure concerned fans that it is still committed to the game despite the impact of significant layoffs at Xbox.
Last week, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma started her “reset” of Microsoft’s gaming business by cutting 1,600 staff, with another 1,600 to go over the course of the next 12 months. Bethesda was hit hard by the layoffs. A Maryland WARN Act notice shows 213 employees were laid off from ZOS’s office in Cockeysville, MD, and 166 from ZeniMax Media Inc. in Rockville, MD, for a total of 379. While it’s difficult to pin down exactly what the affected staff were working on at these studios because there are blended teams across Bethesda locations, the WARN numbers undoubtedly make for difficult reading.
As revealed by IGN last week, in an email to Bethesda staff sent following Sharma’s memo on Monday, Bethesda boss Jill Braff said the layoffs and change in strategy “reflect the realities of our industry and business – and our responsibility to ensure Bethesda is operating from a more stable foundation.”
“To be successful in the future, we need to change course,” Braff continued. “We must strengthen our business, return to sustainable growth, and ensure we can continue investing in our franchises and our players. I know that doesn’t make a day like today any easier.”
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Without naming games, Braff added “to best position Bethesda for future growth, we are shifting from a planning model primarily centered on what’s next for each independent studio to one that focuses on our strongest franchises and determining the content roadmap that best serves our players and Bethesda as a whole. From there, we’ll align the right talent, technology, and resources across the organization to deliver on those priorities.”
There can be no doubt that ESO, which launched in April 2014, was one of the games impacted by the layoffs, with staff confirming an adjustment to its planned roadmap of content would have to be made. But, according to Massively OP, the developers have also now told fans that the team size is back to the level it was when the Wrothgar (2015) and Summerset (2018) DLCs — both warmly received — were made.
The comments were paraphrased by Baratron, the admin of the UESP Discord and prominent Elder Scrolls Online player, in a post on the ESO forum, having attended the ESO Tavern event in Hesse, Germany, over the weekend. According to Baratron, associate design director, Jason Barnes, and associate director of community management, Jessica Folsom, said the layoffs did not signal the end for ESO, nor was it going into maintenance mode.
ESO’s Kevin Gbolie then followed up with a post on the forum: “The plan is still to deliver great content, and we will hopefully have an update soon. Just wanted to thank everyone for the kind words and concern for everyone at the studio and everyone impacted by layoffs. We know that everyone appreciates it. Also apologies for any delay in follow up from me this week here on the forum. I’m currently at the Tavern.”
Last week, a source familiar with the situation at the studio told IGN that ZOS is supporting the new season model for ESO while also looking for ways to collaborate more closely with BGS to support the Elder Scrolls franchise as a whole. I took that to mean helping get The Elder Scrolls 6 out the door.
The comments from ZOS echo those issued by Doom developer id Software, which was similarly hit hard by the Xbox layoffs. 96 staff who worked at id Software’s office in Richardson, Texas, were cut, alongside a further 40 remote roles. Reports estimate the legendary first-person studio lost half its staff.
Some had expressed concern that id Software would be unable to lead development on any new games in its current state, and that it might be relegated to support studio status. But id Software said it was now at the staffing level it was back when it made the much-loved 2016 Doom reboot — and insisted it was still capable of making “great games.”
With these statements, both ZOS and id Software are sending a similarly positive message to fans (and perhaps hinting at ill-advised hiring across Xbox by Microsoft in recent years). But it’s worth noting that there are still over 1,000 staff at Xbox who are set to lose their jobs in the coming months. This wait to find out who’s next on the chopping block is causing a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty among those who remain and must continue to work on games even as Microsoft restructures the Xbox business around them.
For more on how the Xbox layoffs have impacted Bethesda, we’ve got a report on the fate of everything from The Elder Scrolls 6 to Fallout 5.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
