Staff at Bethesda Game Studios are concerned that The Elder Scrolls 6 could face significant delays after Xbox laid off over 1,600 employees this week, including more than 50 from Bethesda itself. The cuts have removed a 27-year veteran who worked on every Elder Scrolls title since 2002's Morrowind, and remaining employees fear the game—already expected no earlier than 2028—may slip further.
Layoffs hit veteran talent
According to IGN, senior character artist Christiane Meister was among those let go after 27 years at the studio. 'I have recently been laid off from Bethesda Game Studios and find myself in the novel position of looking for a job,' Meister wrote on LinkedIn. 'I thought I would stay there forever because I loved making those games. Life had other plans as it so often does.'
The Bethesda Game Studios Union account on Bluesky shared photos of memorials to the fired team members, calling them a 'Celebration Of Service'. The layoffs come as part of a broader Xbox cost-cutting plan that aims to shed around 3,200 people by the end of the financial year.
Morale and delay fears
Speaking anonymously to IGN, Bethesda staff expressed deep concerns. 'There is a fear that we are going to be replaced by cheaper, contracted labour, or we will hire folks to replace them that will need to be onboarded (our tools are proprietary, other devs aren't going to know how they work) resulting in more delays, and we'll need to crunch to make up the time,' one employee said.
Another staff member added: 'We've all been very excited and hyped for The Elder Scrolls 6 and this has had a crushing effect on morale. We were already running a tight ship and are worried about this delaying the game (though a final release date was not yet chosen as far as we know).'
Outsourcing and further cuts
Some employees claim the company plans to outsource work to other studios or rely on colleagues from ZeniMax Online Studios, which developed The Elder Scrolls Online. However, a public layoff notice shows that studio lost 213 employees recently, casting doubt on that strategy. With Xbox confirming up to 3,200 total job cuts by year-end, further layoffs at Bethesda are possible.
Bethesda Game Studios is already under pressure after the disappointing reception of Starfield. The combination of lost expertise, low morale, and potential outsourcing raises serious questions about when—or if—The Elder Scrolls 6 will meet its hoped-for release window.
