Xbox Releases New Official Statement on Bethesda, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls

Xbox has finally, officially revealed its full reset plans for the business, which include both Double Fine and Compulsion Games going independent, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have been sold (Senua and State of Decay 3 remain funded), and Arkane Lyon is reviewing its future with the French Government. The latter is part of a new restructuring at ZeniMax Development Studios, which is the larger Bethesda umbrella and includes a handful of studios beneath it.

While Bethesda is an important name in the gaming industry, it did not escape the ongoing changes unscathed. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has previously stated that she wanted Xbox to be more focused on developing key IPs, like Halo, Call of Duty, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout. And amid the ongoing changes, Xbox has revealed its current plans for ZeniMax as a whole (which includes Bethesda, ZeniMax Online Studios, id Software, MachineGames, and Arkane Lyon).

Xbox CEO Reveals Full Details of Layoffs and Restructuring

In a letter to employees, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirms the single biggest staff reduction event for the company as well as four studios leaving.

Sharma explained that everything here is designed “to focus on higher priority projects,” with the executive further adding that no publicly known projects are being canceled as part of this restructuring. As reported by Bloomberg, this means that Zenimax will face a “significant overhaul” and reduce its management layers to produce products more quickly. ZeniMax’s restructure will mean fewer experimental games like Starfield and more major IP, namely Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein. The overall goal at large, at Bethesda and other key studios under its wider Umbrella, is further investment, while other studios are leaving.

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Marvel’s Blade is one of the known games being impacted by the restructure at Bethesda. It has gone over budget and been delayed internally, which is why its future is being reviewed alongside the government, and its future is not certain yet. Otherwise, fans can probably expect the above games to be what comes out of Bethesda for the next few years, at the very least. Fallout 5 is a long way away still, especially as Bethesda and Zenimax focus on the ongoing development of The Elder Scrolls 6, but the beloved post-apocalyptic IP has received plenty of attention online heading into this announcement.

Obsidian Entertainment was recently reported to be on Xbox’s chopping block, but it was refuted. Obsidian Entertainment was recently said, by a reliable source, to be working on a new Fallout game (akin to New Vegas, which it developed), but that was also refuted. However, Obsidian working on a new Fallout game is a decision that would come down from above the studio, director Josh Sawyer recently said, and there are rumors of upcoming remakes of Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Those could bide time until Fallout 5 comes into focus.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

That said, there was also a new Fallout game reportedly canceled earlier this year. Nothing was reported other than its supposed existence, and the scale/scope of the project was unknown. What that was, what comes out of this, and ultimately what the next Fallout game and next Elder Scrolls game look like remains to be seen, but further investment appears to be in its future.