In hindsight, I probably should have waited before asking where The Elder Scrolls 6 is, eight years after its announcement. But in my defense, how could anyone have guessed that Xbox’s approach (allegedly) to shipping one of the most anticipated games of all time was to kneecap the development team?
I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start from right after Xbox announced layoffs for 1,600 employees across a myriad of studios, with 1,600 more coming in the next 12 months. It didn’t matter who you were a part of – Activision, King, Mojang, Blizzard, Bethesda – everyone was under the radar. Aside from studios like Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Undead Labs, which either went independent or were acquired.
Now, Xbox didn’t come out and say which studios were affected, but based on reports and WARN notices issued in Maryland, the devastation is significant. ZeniMax Online Studios, responsible for The Elder Scrolls Online, had 213 layoffs, raising huge questions over the MMO’s sustainability (there were reportedly 300 employees in 2025).
The Outer Worlds 2 developer reportedly saw 25 percent of its studio laid off, about 60 to 70 employees, with Avowed 2 cancelled and a new Fallout in development. Plans for the latter are apparently still up in the air, but considering Xbox’s desire to focus on “high-priority projects,” it wouldn’t be surprising if it went through. id Software is a shell of its former self, after 136 layoffs.
By comparison, Bethesda would seem not to have suffered much, with over 50 employees laid off. However, current and former employees at the studio recently contacted IGN to reveal that these will directly impact the development of The Elder Scrolls 6. “Their loss will have a substantial and cascading effect on the game and morale of this studio,” said a staff member.
We’re not talking about QA and marketing either – one individual said that it’s a mix of “every discipline: programmers, artists, and designers.” This seemingly includes Christiane Meister, a long-time lead character artist whose resume includes every single major Bethesda Game Studios title, including Morrowind. For a company prioritizing the projects that matter most, removing experienced developers doesn’t rank among its smartest decisions. I mean, there’s a scale for self-destructiveness, and this is dangerously approaching the lower end.
How is Xbox making up for this? The only way it seemingly knows how: Contractors. A developer said that there’s “a fear that we are going to be replaced by cheaper, contracted labor.” And even if new regular employees are hired, albeit for cheaper because the publisher doesn’t want to maintain experienced talent, they’ll need time to be brought up to speed with Creation Engine 3 and other proprietary tools.
That could mean more delays, and as that individual notes, “We’ll need to crunch to make up the time.” Another said that the studio has been “very excited and hyped for The Elder Scrolls 6 and this has had a crushing effect on morale.” Oddly enough, the team was apparently “already running a tight ship and are worried about this delaying the game,” even though a release date is still undecided.
Of course, Xbox seems to think differently, as Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier claimed that The Elder Scrolls 6 would launch in two years or more. If it actually arrives by 2028, that would make it a decade since its initial announcement, give or take several months. If it arrives later in that year, then we’re looking at 17 years since the release of Skyrim.
Backing up a bit, you might not feel the most sympathy for Bethesda. It chose to reveal The Elder Scrolls 6 so early, though at the time, it was more to reassure fans that the studio wasn’t giving up on single-player titles after announcing Fallout 76. And make no mistake – that was a decision from studio leadership rather than those in the trenches who actually had to make the game.
It also chose Creation Engine, now in its third iteration, due to its comfort, despite criticisms that have emerged against it for years and years. Everyone talks about tech debt and how it would be better for Bethesda to continue with the engine rather than trying to start afresh on Unreal Engine 5, and they weren’t wrong. But they probably didn’t count on Xbox getting rid of the most experienced people who could get the most out of Creation Engine.
One could look at this as the publisher wanting to finally deliver such a hotly anticipated property to its fans. We know it’s a business at the end of the day, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes an Xbox console exclusive. Besides all the issues with that strategy, even for an established IP like The Elder Scrolls, this doesn’t come across as looking out for the franchise’s most loyal players. The term “spreadsheet decision” is going around regarding these layoffs, because that’s exactly how Xbox views them – as talent that’s either too expensive or not worth paying despite their experience. And if it’s not going to involve those who have been on the same engine for all this time, then it’s not looking to deliver the best possible experience.
Instead, it’s simply about getting the game out and cashing in on it, or at the very least, having something to show that could drive up Xbox’s value. Rumors have been going around about the division potentially being spun off or sold to another entity, and what better way to make it look more valuable, especially at a cheaper price courtesy of less expensive talent, than a new Elder Scrolls game? Heck, toss in a new Fallout as well for good measure.
If all of this is true, none of it will translate into a better game. We’ve seen the effects of crunch – remember the fiasco surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, which ultimately pushed CD Projekt RED to overhaul its development methods to avoid the same. If a studio as talented as that suffered, who’s to say that Bethesda, which is already eight years into the game’s announcement, will fare any better?
To be clear, I’m not saying that letting Todd Howard and the lads continue as they always have and waiting another eight years is the solution. I’m not even saying he and the likes of Emil Pagliarulo, regardless of your feelings on his writing, should have been the ones to go. But in the same vein, getting rid of the lifeblood of the studio, the ones who have actually carried it across multiple failures and controversial decisions, is not much better of an option. Relying on contractors, which worked wonders for the development of Halo Infinite, to save some money is also not the best decision, and hiring cheaper talent, hoping that they’ll pick things up as they go along…well, you get the idea.
At this point, it’s clear that Xbox isn’t concerned with anything other than getting a popular product out and cashing in on it. But there’s a big difference between doing business and effectively ruining a title with immeasurable hype, even if everyone is going to pre-order it anyway. Unfortunately, if the fates of The Elder Scrolls Online and id Software are any indication, it’s that Xbox’s respect for video game lineages and developers only goes so far.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
