Zenimax is one of the companies to have received some of the harshest impacts of the ongoing big ‘Reset’ process in Xbox, which saw a total of 1600 layoffs taking place yesterday and 3,200 employees being let go by the end of the current fiscal year. Based on a new report by Bloomberg, multiple studios under Zenimax which include Bethesda, id Software, MachineGames, and ZeniMax Online Studios, will be going through a “significant overhaul”. And as a result, the company is only going to focus on it’s biggest franchises such as Fallout, Doom, The Elder Scrolls and Wolfenstein from now on.
In an email sent to all staff, Bethesda boss Jill Braff has stated that the current layoffs and subsequent changes “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.”
He added: “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.”
One of the biggest games that’s currently in development by Bethesda is The Elder Scrolls 6 which has the potential to be a genre-redefining experience in more ways than one, and is not expected to arrive by at least 2027 or even later.
So far, one of the byproducts of the restructuring process that’s taking place in Xbox is a huge uncertainty on the future of multiple relatively smaller titles like Arkane’s Blade, Ninja Theory’s Senua among others which leads to a severe reduction in the overall diversity in videogames.
