Xbox laid off hundreds of employees in a call that lasted only 60 seconds, according to multiple former staff members who spoke to Game Developer. Despite assurances from Xbox management that the company has the necessary resources to make new games, laid-off employees insist that development teams have been severely gutted.
Layoffs Hit id Software and ZeniMax Online Studios
The layoffs included most of the staff at id Software that worked on the Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelation DLC. Former employees reject Xbox management's attempts to spin things positively and explain how this makes future game development harder. Multiple employees, who asked to remain anonymous, told Game Developer that the call announcing the layoffs barely lasted a minute, with one source accusing Microsoft of trying to 'shove off' responsibility onto the unions.
One source took umbrage with Xbox's comments on focusing on core franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, despite getting rid of so many workers. 'Bethesda Game Studios lost a lot of talent this week. Xbox says they want to focus on their core franchises like Fallout and Elder Scrolls but that's going to be harder than ever now,' they said. Another pointed out that a lot of institutional knowledge has also been lost: 'Those that are left must be scrambling to pick up the pieces.'
id Tech Engine Expertise Dismantled
The dismantling of id Software is particularly outrageous. Game Developer's report corroborates how much talent the studio has lost. It's claimed that 'They've just gotten rid of all the people who could ever fix, maintain, or change [id Tech],' referring to id Software's custom game engine that has been iterated upon for decades and used for the Doom games plus other Bethesda projects. The source believes this is a sign that id Tech will be abandoned, adding, 'I cannot imagine a path forward where they make another game in id Tech.'
Xbox says it still wants more Doom games, but that seems unlikely as there are simply not enough people left to make it. The company has tried to downplay concerns, sharing a public statement via the id Software X account that the studio still has 'the crew we need to build the games and tech we're known for' and claims it is now about the same size as when it released the 2016 Doom game. However, that may not mean much if many of the people responsible for that game's quality are no longer employed at the studio.
ZeniMax Online Studios Loses Leadership
ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer behind The Elder Scrolls Online, has also been severely affected, according to Game File, including losing its leadership team and studio head Joseph Burba, who had been part of the studio since 2012. The studio is transitioning to new leadership despite The Elder Scrolls Online apparently doing well after pivoting away from annual expansions to seasonal content updates.
'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,' one source explained to Game Developer. 'We were improving on the metrics [Microsoft] wanted us to improve on.' Elder Scrolls Online players should not be surprised if content updates slow down because of these cuts, according to former staff member Morgan Goin, who told the BBC: 'We're not going to be able to put out the amount of content at the speed that we were… or anything approaching that.'
More Cuts to Come: 1,600 Additional Layoffs Planned
Perhaps the worst part is that the layoffs are not over. Despite 3,200 people being let go, only half that number were immediately impacted; the remaining half are set to leave before next July, and it is not clear what positions or studios that will involve. Remaining Xbox employees now have to work on new games and appease upper management despite the complete lack of job security. As one source put it, 'I don't know how anyone remaining at Xbox studios can feel safe knowing another 1,600 cuts are coming.'
