Microsoft recently announced sweeping layoffs affecting 4,800 people, including 3,200 at Xbox alone. This is happening as part of a “reset” of Xbox, and this includes changes to the company’s various subsidiaries, including Bethesda.
Bethesda boss Jill Braff said the cuts at Xbox “reflect the realities of our industry and business.” She said Bethesda has a responsibility to ensure it is “operating from a more stable foundation.” In addition to layoffs across the organization–Betheda’s id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, and Obsidian teams were hit particularly hard–Braff said Bethesda needs to rethink how it works and what franchises it focuses on.
“To be successful in the future, we need to change course,” Braff said in a memo to staff obtained by IGN. “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.”
Braff did not get into specifics, but said Bethesda will now shift “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.”
Braff went on to say that Bethesda’s teams will now focus on “the opportunities with the greatest potential.”
One of those projects is no doubt The Elder Scrolls 6, which is the next project from Bethesda Game Studios. The Fallout franchise is also particularly popular, with fans eager for Fallout 5. In June, a report said Microsoft was looking to increase its investment in some of Xbox’s biggest franchises. The report singled out The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo, and said the aim was to speed up development on these projects.
Microsoft’s dramatic cuts to Xbox are the result of “catastrophic mismanagement” by Microsoft leadership as it chase the AI trend, some are saying.