Bethesda Assures Fans That The Elder Scrolls 6 Development Remains On Track Despite Xbox Layoffs

At the beginning of July, news broke that around 3,200 employees across various Xbox-owned studios would be laid off, prompting several Bethesda staff members to express concerns about the potential impact on the development of The Elder Scrolls 6. However, Bethesda has since reassured fans that this major restructuring at Xbox won’t alter the game’s development timeline.

This update comes from a video by a content creator who reached out to Bethesda with questions about the situation. When asked if there was any truth to the rumors of delays for The Elder Scrolls 6 due to the layoffs, Bethesda responded firmly, stating, “No, the roadmap is unaffected.”

Skepticism is understandable. Bethesda recently announced four new Fallout titles, including Fallout 5, which is reportedly already in pre-production. Additionally, the layoffs included 440 employees from Bethesda and Zenimax, leading the team behind The Elder Scrolls Online to indicate that their previously shared roadmaps would be changing.

In the same correspondence, Bethesda mentioned they are still working on optimizations for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. They also clarified that their recent announcements were not a directive from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.

“Look, we read the internet too,” Bethesda reportedly stated in their email. “All of our fans and plenty of creators have been asking for us to lay out our roadmap for a long time. As bits of info or announcements come out individually, they get lost in the larger picture of all we’re doing as a studio. So, we felt it was best to do it all at once and paint a clear picture for everyone. This is a shift in our approach to communication that Bethesda Game Studios has been contemplating for some time now.”

Given the timing and the significant number of layoffs, skepticism remains. With many at Bethesda losing their jobs and some employees suggesting that development will be affected, alongside the announcement of numerous new projects, it’s hard not to question the narrative that everything is perfectly fine.