The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the biggest upcoming games in the works at the Xbox-owned Bethesda Game Studios. But after Microsoft’s sweeping layoffs, which also impacted BGS, developers there have expressed concerns about the impact on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the possibility of a delay.
A source at BGS told IGN that the developers have been “very excited and hyped” for The Elder Scrolls 6, and that the big Xbox “reset” has “had a crushing effect on morale” at the studio.
“We were already running a tight ship and are worried about this delaying the game (though a final release date was not yet chosen as far as we know),” the developer said.
The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced in 2018, so it’s been in the works for a long time. A recent report from Bloomberg said The Elder Scrolls 6 was still a couple years away from releasing, but it remains to be seen if the cuts may impact timelines. Bethesda boss Todd Howard previously said the game may have been announced too soon.
The report cited another Bethesda developer who said “there is a fear” at the studio that the developers will be “replaced by cheaper, contracted labor” or that Bethesda will hire new developers to replace the laid-off ones who will then need to get up to speed with Bethesda’s proprietary tools.
This, in turn, could lead to “more delays,” the developer said, with workers then needing to “crunch to make up on time.”
Bethesda cutting staff will lead to a “substantial and cascading effect” on The Elder Scrolls 6 and general morale, a developer said. “It’s been a mix of every discipline: programmers, artists, and designers,” said another source. “One person who’s been at the company since Morrowind was cut.”
In addition to The Elder Scrolls 6, Howard has discussed how the team is planning to make Fallout 5 later. At the same time, it was recently reported that Xbox’s Obsidian studio is making a new Fallout game, with Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer leading the team.
Bethesda higher-up Jill Braff told staff in an email that the company needs to “change course” and focus on projects with the highest likelihood of making money. Before that, another report said Microsoft was making structural changes to help speed up the development of The Elder Scrolls (and Fallout) games.
The Xbox layoffs impacted 1,600 people this week, with another 1,600 people set to lose their jobs in the next year. Beyond the cuts at Xbox, Microsoft is slashing jobs throughout the entire company, with 4,800 roles impacted (about 2.1% of the company’s total workforce). In addition to layoffs, Microsoft is divesting of five studios and cancelling projects, like Avowed 2.