{"id":2035191,"date":"2026-07-09T13:33:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T10:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2035191"},"modified":"2026-07-09T13:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T10:33:05","slug":"even-the-elder-scrolls-6-is-affected-by-xbox-layoffs-say-bethesda-employees-as-key-people-are-let-go-and-morale-bottoms-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2035191","title":{"rendered":"Even The Elder Scrolls 6 is affected by Xbox layoffs, say Bethesda employees, as &#8220;key&#8221; people are let go and morale bottoms out"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-elder-scrolls-6\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      The Elder Scrolls VI<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Even The Elder Scrolls 6 is affected by Xbox layoffs, say Bethesda employees, as &#8220;key&#8221; people are let go and morale bottoms out<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Expect a &#8220;substantial and cascading effect&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/TESO-header.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A knight in the Elder Scrolls game stands in front of a city, holding a torn flag in one hand and a sword in the other.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"TESO-header.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dom Peppiatt avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/pxl_20220402_110941365.portrait_V04meYj.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1044\" height=\"1130\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Dom Peppiatt avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"pxl_20220402_110941365.portrait_V04meYj.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1044\" height=\"1130\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/dom-peppiatt\">Dom Peppiatt<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Deputy Editorial Director<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-07-09T13:33:05+00:00\">July 9, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/elder-scrolls-6-morale-bethesda-xbox-layoffs?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          11 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"c37f6bb7-fa4f-4c1c-8a9e-8f9b58b66791\" data-name=\"The Elder Scrolls VI\" data-follow-text=\"Follow The Elder Scrolls VI\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following The Elder Scrolls VI\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow The Elder Scrolls VI\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following The Elder Scrolls VI\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow The Elder Scrolls VI\" title=\"Follow The Elder Scrolls VI\"><br \/>\n  Follow The Elder Scrolls VI<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The impact of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">this week&#8217;s massive wave of Xbox layoffs<\/a> on individual projects and teams is starting to become clear. The latest revelation comes from multiple staff at Bethesda, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/the-elder-scrolls-6-will-suffer-because-of-xbox-layoffs-bethesda-staff-say-fearing-delays-crunch-and-generational-talent-being-replaced-by-contractors\">have told IGN<\/a> they expect a &#8220;substantial and cascading effect&#8221; on the long in-development <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-elder-scrolls-6\">Elder Scrolls 6<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Per the report, anonymous employees at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/bethesda-game-studios\">Bethesda Game Studios<\/a> say more than 50 staff including &#8220;key, high-performing people in the trenches&#8221; have been impacted by the layoffs. These layoffs have caused morale to plummet, they say, and expect it will heighten the chances of crunch and delay the game to some degree.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"The Elder Scrolls 6 Teaser - E3 2018\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GrSAtbjoxaI?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/GrSAtbjoxaI\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">The Elder Scrolls 6 Teaser &#8211; E3 2018<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>This trailer is now eight years old.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GrSAtbjoxaI\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Their loss will have a substantial and cascading effect on the game and morale of this studio,&#8221; one Bethesda staff member told IGN. &#8220;It&#8217;s been a mix of every discipline: programmers, artists, and designers,&#8221; said another. &#8220;One person who&#8217;s been at the company since Morrowind was cut.&#8221; This could be referring to 27-year Bethesda veteran and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/christiane-meister-562135b\/\">lead character artist Christiane Meister, who announced via LinkedIn<\/a> she had been let go by the company. She has worked on Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fallout-3\">Fallout 3<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/fallout-4-walkthrough-and-guide-4019\">Fallout 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We knew from earlier this week that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/zenimax-bethesda-new-plans-include-more-fallout-elder-scrolls-quake\">Zenimax and Bethesda were facing staff cuts<\/a>, which would reportedly be followed by the studios pivoting to focus on their biggest franchises: Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein. Today&#8217;s news seems to hobble those plans, though: with a newly-reduced headcount and morale at rock bottom, I can&#8217;t imagine we&#8217;re going to see new titles from massive brands any time soon. And although executives at Bethesda <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/bethesda-boss-todd-howard-offers-more-elder-scrolls-6-info-more-efficient-development\">have promised &#8216;more efficient development&#8217;<\/a> on the highly-awaited sixth game in the Elder Scrolls franchise, it&#8217;s still without a release date, not to mention veteran talent.<\/p>\n<p>Today hasn&#8217;t been a good day for storied studios like Bethesda or, indeed, id Software. Earlier, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-quake-studio-id-software-gutted-xbox-cuts-game-ideas\">we reported that the Doom and Quake studio has also been gutted<\/a>, with its headcount reduced so drastically the developer may be relegated to &#8216;support studio&#8217; status. This came with the cancellation of multiple projects that were being pitched.<\/p>\n<p>It seems that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-one-billion\">the consequences of Xbox&#8217;s bold new strategy<\/a> are as unpopular internally as they are with the rest of the video games industry. I expect we&#8217;ll see more fallout from these layoffs over the coming weeks and days. My thoughts are with everyone affected, and I wish all the developers impacted by this week&#8217;s wave of layoffs security and strength in the days ahead.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The impact of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">this week&#8217;s massive wave of Xbox layoffs<\/a> on individual projects and teams is starting to become clear. The latest revelation comes from multiple staff at Bethesda, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/the-elder-scrolls-6-will-suffer-because-of-xbox-layoffs-bethesda-staff-say-fearing-delays-crunch-and-generational-talent-being-replaced-by-contractors\">have told IGN<\/a> they expect a &#8220;substantial and cascading effect&#8221; on the long in-development <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-elder-scrolls-6\">Elder Scrolls 6<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Per the report, anonymous employees at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/bethesda-game-studios\">Bethesda Game Studios<\/a> say more than 50 staff including &#8220;key, high-performing people in the trenches&#8221; have been impacted by the layoffs. These layoffs have caused morale to plummet, they say, and expect it will heighten the chances of crunch and delay the game to some degree.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"The Elder Scrolls 6 Teaser - E3 2018\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GrSAtbjoxaI?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/GrSAtbjoxaI\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">The Elder Scrolls 6 Teaser &#8211; E3 2018<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>This trailer is now eight years old.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GrSAtbjoxaI\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Their loss will have a substantial and cascading effect on the game and morale of this studio,&#8221; one Bethesda staff member told IGN. &#8220;It&#8217;s been a mix of every discipline: programmers, artists, and designers,&#8221; said another. &#8220;One person who&#8217;s been at the company since Morrowind was cut.&#8221; This could be referring to 27-year Bethesda veteran and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/christiane-meister-562135b\/\">lead character artist Christiane Meister, who announced via LinkedIn<\/a> she had been let go by the company. She has worked on Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fallout-3\">Fallout 3<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/fallout-4-walkthrough-and-guide-4019\">Fallout 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We knew from earlier this week that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/zenimax-bethesda-new-plans-include-more-fallout-elder-scrolls-quake\">Zenimax and Bethesda were facing staff cuts<\/a>, which would reportedly be followed by the studios pivoting to focus on their biggest franchises: Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein. Today&#8217;s news seems to hobble those plans, though: with a newly-reduced headcount and morale at rock bottom, I can&#8217;t imagine we&#8217;re going to see new titles from massive brands any time soon. And although executives at Bethesda <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/bethesda-boss-todd-howard-offers-more-elder-scrolls-6-info-more-efficient-development\">have promised &#8216;more efficient development&#8217;<\/a> on the highly-awaited sixth game in the Elder Scrolls franchise, it&#8217;s still without a release date, not to mention veteran talent.<\/p>\n<p>Today hasn&#8217;t been a good day for storied studios like Bethesda or, indeed, id Software. Earlier, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-quake-studio-id-software-gutted-xbox-cuts-game-ideas\">we reported that the Doom and Quake studio has also been gutted<\/a>, with its headcount reduced so drastically the developer may be relegated to &#8216;support studio&#8217; status. This came with the cancellation of multiple projects that were being pitched.<\/p>\n<p>It seems that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-one-billion\">the consequences of Xbox&#8217;s bold new strategy<\/a> are as unpopular internally as they are with the rest of the video games industry. I expect we&#8217;ll see more fallout from these layoffs over the coming weeks and days. My thoughts are with everyone affected, and I wish all the developers impacted by this week&#8217;s wave of layoffs security and strength in the days ahead.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News The Elder Scrolls VI Even The Elder Scrolls 6 is affected by Xbox layoffs, say Bethesda employees, as &#8220;key&#8221; people are let go and morale bottoms out Expect a &#8220;substantial and cascading effect&#8221;. Image credit: Eurogamer News by Dom Peppiatt Deputy Editorial Director Published on July 9, 2026 11 comments Follow The Elder [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2035191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2035191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2035191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2035191\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2035191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2035191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2035191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}