The boss of Bethesda has told staff the company must now focus on its “strongest franchises” amid sweeping layoffs across Xbox.
Today, Microsoft announced 3,200 staff are set to lose their jobs at Xbox across the current financial year, with 1,600 of those layoffs happening today, July 6. In an email sent to staff, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma called it the most “significant” restructure in Xbox history, insisting Microsoft’s gaming business “is not healthy.” Overall, Xbox is losing about one-fifth of its staff as part of Sharma’s push for growth.
Bethesda is hit particularly hard by the layoffs, IGN understands, with staff across its many development studios either already told they are cut or facing an uncertain future. In an email to Bethesda staff sent following Sharma’s memo, Bethesda boss Jill Braff said the layoffs and change in strategy “reflect the realities of our industry and business – and our responsibility to ensure Bethesda is operating from a more stable foundation.”
“To be successful in the future, we need to change course,” Braff continued. “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.”
But what does that actually mean beyond layoffs at the likes of id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, and elsewhere at Bethesda? Without naming games, Braff said “to best position Bethesda for future growth, we are shifting 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.”
“From there, we’ll align the right talent, technology, and resources across the organization to deliver on those priorities,” Braff added.
IGN has already explored how the changes at Bethesda mean focusing on big hitters such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, leaving Starfield potentially out in the cold. With Microsoft planning to sell or close Arkane Lyon, Marvel’s Blade may fall by the wayside or be published elsewhere. The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios has already signalled content roadmap changes with fewer staff following the layoffs. Meanwhile id Software, developer of the Doom games, has suffered significant cuts. MachineGames has survived the cull, with a new Wolfenstein game pretty much an open secret at this point. But it’s looking increasingly unlikely that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will get the sequel it teased at the end of the game.
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