The Elder Scrolls Online studio reportedly suffers a second large wave of layoffs in a year, with “up to half” of the team impacted

Zenimax Online Studios, developer of the long-running MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, has suffered a second major wave of layoffs in a year as part of Microsoft’s broader Xbox division restructuring. Reports indicate that up to half of the studio’s workforce was affected, with sources describing the cuts as “brutal” and raising serious concerns about the game’s continued viability.

The layoffs are part of Microsoft’s larger restructuring announcement, which involved cutting 1,600 jobs this week with plans to cut an additional 1,600 positions in the coming year. While Zenimax remained operational rather than being closed, the severity of the cuts has prompted developers to question whether the studio can sustain The Elder Scrolls Online’s ongoing development.

The timing created immediate complications, forcing the studio to announce that The Elder Scrolls Online’s previously planned roadmap would be “shifting” just two days before the release of Season One—a roadmap that had been established following the studio’s earlier layoffs earlier in the year. Former developer Andrew Young, who worked at Zenimax from 2012 to 2024, publicly expressed frustration on social media, emphasizing the unrecognized effort that went into creating and maintaining the game. Multiple current and former studio employees announced their departures on LinkedIn.

The cuts underscore ongoing volatility in the gaming industry, where established studios continue to face significant workforce reductions despite maintaining commercially successful live-service titles.

The Elder Scrolls Online studio reportedly suffers a second large wave of layoffs in a year, with “up to half” of the team impacted

Sources