The layoffs at The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios have been far more intense than was first indicated. According to Game File, several veteran developers, as well as members of the leadership team, have also been let go from the company.
According to a WARN (Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification) reportedly letter sent by the company, 14-year veteran and studio head Joe Burba, executive producer on the MMORPG Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert, and production director Ala Diaz are leaving.
According to the report, Burba, Kath, Lambert, and Diaz have notified the remaining employees at ZeniMax Online Studios that the company will be transitioning to a new leadership team. This new team will be comprised of veterans of the studio who are being promoted and will be put together “over the next few months”.
“We will remain in place during the transition period to help ensure a smooth handoff,” they said.
WARN notices from last week had revealed that 213 employees of ZeniMax Online Studios are being let go as part of sweeping layoffs across Xbox. A 2025 report had indicated that the company had a workforce of over 300 employees, and these job cuts are believed to have resulted in a headcount of between 100 and 150 remaining workers.
Indications that ZeniMax Online Studios had been hit particularly hard by layoffs first came about when community manager Jessica Folsom announced that the studio would need to reassess its content roadmap for The Elder Scrolls Online, especially since the MMORPG is now using a seasonal model.
“Looking beyond Season One, the roadmaps we previously shared will be shifting. We want to take the time to evaluate the work in front of us and then lock down an updated schedule. While we’d love to share concrete details today, stepping back to get our plans straight will let us come back to you with a clear timeline.”
More recently, former senior encounter designer Morgan Goin said that the studio won’t be able to sustain the content development and release cadence that players might have been used to in the past. She also recalled being “blindsided” when being told about the layoffs. “We knew something was going to happen to somebody, but not who or how much,” she explained.
According to another report, ZeniMax Online Studios was doing quite well, with revenue brought in by The Elder Scrolls Online not only sustaining the studio itself but also meeting Xbox’s imposed metrics.
“All of the information that was ever visible to us out of those numbers meetings—out of the monthly staff meetings—were that we were doing fine,” explained an anonymous employee. “You know, we’re paying for ourselves. […] We were improving on the metrics [Microsoft] wanted us to improve on.”
Former content designer Andrew Young also took to social media to discuss layoffs hitting the studio and said that the people who lost their jobs “deserved much better” due to the work they had put into developing the MMORPG.
For more about Xbox’s layoffs, which have affected around 1,600 employees so far, check out our report.
