The Elder Scrolls Online’s devs are pushing through hard times after layoffs and delays: ‘We didn’t want to rush to just hit a date’
The Elder Scrolls Online’s development team faces mounting challenges following a series of significant layoffs and project cancellations. In July 2025, the studio scrapped Project Blackbird, a major initiative, resulting in 62 employee layoffs. This was compounded by a more severe blow in July 2026, when Xbox’s broader organizational reset led to 213 additional layoffs from Zenimax Online Studios, the game’s developer.
Despite these hardships, the development team remains committed to the game’s future. In statements to press, developers emphasized their continuing passion for the project, with one noting “We still love this game.” The team has also expressed a commitment to quality over speed, indicating they would not rush development to meet arbitrary deadlines. This suggests a prioritization of game integrity even amid organizational turbulence and staffing reductions.
The layoffs represent a significant portion of the studio’s workforce and underscore the broader challenges facing the gaming industry, including studio consolidations and shifting priorities from major publishers. ESO, which launched in 2014 and has maintained an active player base across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, continues to receive development support despite these setbacks.