Reports: Elder Scrolls Online team hit by major layoffs

gamingJul 6, 2026292,337

The Elder Scrolls Online was hit by a wave of layoffs after Xbox and Bethesda restructuring, with reports saying roughly half of ZeniMax Online Studios' ESO team were cut. Posts from current and former developers focused on the human toll: one former ZOS employee messaged a fan site to thank them on the very day they were let go, and several contributors who said they had 14 plus years on the game described being included in the cuts. Community posts also singled out Bill Slavicsek as the franchise's long-standing head writer while expressing heartbreak over the loss of institutional knowledge and asking for patience and kindness as the studio reorganizes. Players and colleagues lamented the suddenness and scale of the departures and shared personal farewells to teammates and collaborators.

Jason Schreier

@jasonschreier.bsky.social

Studios in the Bethesda organization like id Software (Doom) and ZeniMax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Online) are not shutting down but are cutting a significant number of staff this morning, per sources.

139810h ago

Möwenfels | Marcus N.104

I really wanne stop being informed about Video Games. It is not bearable.

Shell67

In my opinion, any CEO that deems it necessary to lay off this many people is admitting that they so woefully mismanaged their company and caused harm to their workforce. I think that warrants jail time, and I'm not remotely joking.

Martin Breault43

`[...] are not shutting down" Always reading this "for now" with how the industry has been doing lately

Francesco Policek25

Can't wait for them all to become COD studios. Bethesda will give us COD Postapocalyptic Warfare and COD Medieval Warfare. ID will give us COD Hellscape Warfare. Playground will give us COD Vehicular Warfare. And so on and so forth. And it'll all be, of course, POWERED BY COPILOT.

Pat23

Ignore modern gaming, embrace your backlog and retro gaming.

jumperpak64.bsky.social8

Can’t wait to see the mess that will be Elder Scrolls 6 now. But seriously of all the studios Microsoft should have sold Bethesda was one of them. Had no reason to buy it in the first place

Quoting this

John Linneman219

😥 Dark day. News pouring in from folks.

DBJ61

The last 5 years in games, every summer is like a fucking bloodbath after the fiscal year ends. I wish I knew how to fix it. There are 900 gorillion dollars in games and somehow not enough money to pay people to make them. It can't continue like this!

RUBY RANGER14

id Software is a long standing studio who has put out some of the most influential games of the last 35 years between all iterations of the staff. The New Doom Trilogy literally rebooted the entire FPS scene away from CoD and hero shooter slop. Gutting this team is beyond an insult to their work.

Wile E. Coyote12

Je serais Bethesda je serai pas serein…

Landon Noss11

How do you fuck up at ID SOFTWARE Xbox what the

Joe Siegler6

As someone who worked at Apogee back in the 90s and know the guys at id really well…. This one concerns me more than most. #MicrosoftLayoffs

Lum5

i'm hearing 50% of ZOS is gone today

Spilt 🏳️‍⚧️5

Yeah you know id Software? The studio that only puts out quality? Ginormous staff cut, what a joke

Anna Phylaxis4

From what I have seen of who's laid off on ESO, it is difficult to imagine what the path forward for that title is, short of maintenance mode.

Paranoia4

Literally the day before, unless it unlocks at midnight or something, of the Doom: The Dark Ages - Revelations DLC This is heartbreaking. And disgusting. Letting people know they're getting laid off the day before the new content they worked on goes live. Whoever made this decision is going to hell

uesp.net

@uesp.net

While I was checking our messages today I noticed a private message from a former ZOS employee, reaching out to us to thank us, and to say they used our site everyday. On the same day they were laid off they took the time to reach out to us, because they truly cared about The Elder Scrolls. 1/2

2384h ago

Andrew Siañez-De La O

@mexicancryptid.bsky.social

Hey folks, my time at ESO has come to an end. I have no idea what this means for the game, but as of right now I have been impacted by these layoffs.

17410h ago

Lady Nerevar8

This is some major ass, I am sorry Andrew :( I've really loved reading your writing these past few years and it'll be missed

The Elder Memes5

I am so sorry, Andrew. I am so fucking sorry.

Floog/Asher4

I am incredibly sorry. This is horrific, and you deserve so much better.

Maya The Barbarian3

I’m so sorry to hear that! That fucking sucks!!!

Jasper Matts3

What a dang loss. Your contributions have been a real breath of fresh air for the game over the past few years Hoping you land on your feet my man

Ultherus3

Andrew, your work on the Solstice Argonians and Tanlorin were some of the best things ever. I really hope things turn around for you soon.

Quoting this

Katherine Souza39

Andrew is one of the smartest and most enthusiastic writers I've had the pleasure of working with. Their sense of joy and ability to "yes and" has been one of the highlights of my job. Please please hire them to write all your characters you won't regret it.

moby dickgirl11

Andrew Siañez-De La O (Writer): bsky.app/profile/mexi...

Bill Slavicsek

@billslavicsek.bsky.social

Where to start? After 14+ amazing years of doing truly epic work on the beloved Elder Scrolls franchise (Elder Scrolls Online in specific), today I was among the way-too-large number of employees let go for strategic business reasons. Not sure what's next, but I suppose I'll think of something.

1213h ago

Marto8

I struggle to even imagine what ESO can look like without the fantastic work of the writing team, keeping the world of TES alive for over a decade. What is going to happen now? What even -can- happen now? Is this just the end of all these zones, quests, lore, and stories?

The Elder Memes4

I'm so sorry, thank you for everything Bill 🩵

𝕎𝕒𝕪𝕟𝕖/LifeOfWeezus4

So sorry Bill. It's been an honor working with you all these years! We'll bounce back!

Bob Chichinske3

So sorry Bill I couldn’t believe your name was on the list, among with so many others. Just sickening and makes me worry about the future of ESO.

Hawk_Eye_1173

I'm so sorry. Thank you for all your work making a game so many of us love. May you find a job somewhere that values you for the awesome person you are.

Tamriel Traveller3

I am so sorry Bill. Thank you for loving Tamriel as much as we do ❤️

Dustin

@dustycode.dev

Howdy y'all, I just got laid off as part of the cuts from Xbox. I have 7 years of experience making full stack web apps, the last 3 of which have been with Zenimax Online Studios supporting The Elder Scrolls Online. Would greatly appreciate if anyone knows of any opportunities!

10510h ago

Quoting this

Tyler on Film 🎞️15

Gonna be boosting some folks impacted by today's Microsoft layoffs announcement

moby dickgirl8

Dustin Thurston (Senior Software Engineer): bsky.app/profile/dust...

Tom Murphy

@bentaporst.bsky.social

Zenimax Online Studios has lost most of a team today, having been cut too deeply for too long. I loved working with the content team on Elder Scrolls Online. We scrambled stories out the door with crusty tools and old technology. We made dumb jokes and characters dripping with fantasy pathos.

529h ago

Tom Murphy15

We may never have been top-of-mind in this industry but that is a team of miracle-workers. They are creative, scrappy, and deeply human (in the best way).

Dissident Khajiit

@rebel-khajiit.bsky.social

Looks like The Elder Scrolls Online just fired half their team, despite record profits and massive renewed interest in the game. Microsoft is a truly incomprehensible, horrible entity. There has to be some way we can fight these maniacs.

366h ago

VJ 🐁 🇺🇦 🇵🇸

@verminjerky.bsky.social

Bill Slavicsek is the head writer of ESO and has been since the beginning. We don't hear from him very often but he's literally in charge of Writing. Elder. Scrolls. Online.

255h ago

Kevin Beaumont

@doublepulsar.com

MS laying off half the Elder Scrolls Online team is really stupid. It’s been a super successful title for them. Sigh.

316h ago

Quoting this

Catalin Cimpanu12

Xbox's new leadership is on a roll of headscratching decisions as of late. One more nonsensical than other

Anna Phylaxis3

Nothing can ever be successful enough. It doesn't matter if you turn a profit every year - there will always be some hypothetical dragon they could be chasing, where they could imagine the resources being spent on yr paycheck bringing them 100x revenue. How do you compete against that?

IGN

@ign.com

New reports indicate that half of the team working on The Elder Scrolls Online has been laid off, leaidng many to wonder how the game will continue. https://bit.ly/4y67Yfd

214h ago

Quoting this

Loona💕🦋{fairy vtuber}4

I’m so angry and so sad. I’ve written and deleted so many things. This game and its community means the world to me. Seeing it gutted like this is just truly heartbreaking 💔

Pup Olliee

@pup-olliee.bsky.social

I hate this timeline were on, seeing the layoffs from xbox studios today is just awful and having played Elder Scrolls Online since it started seeing so many familiar names made redundant is just heart-breaking and sad 😢

148h ago

CappleRoxy 🍎

@cappleroxy.newgrounds.com

So I'm going to buy Elder Scrolls Online!! I keep catching myself obsessing over the lore. Just every time. Outside that (& OSRS) I'll not bother with MMO's. It's just that I have genuine love and passion for the TES series.

137h ago

c:\ carmen ❅ blue 🏳️‍🌈

@lu-carmenrd.bsky.social

a month ago i was anxious about the future of #gw2. now i open bsky and see the xbox layoffs, and their impact on zos. i have no words. very, very sad day for #esofam my only message for fellow #eso players: please be patient and kind with zos as they navigate these troubled times, and try +

108h ago

Leaf (On Writing Vacation)

@leafscaleeso.bsky.social

I don't have any energy left for today. Before I sign off, I just want to say that TES is the community, it's the world, the characters, the people that made them, the people that play the games, single player, MMO, or otherwise. #ESOFam #TES #ElderScrolls They can't take that from you.

104h ago

fishttp://

@fishttp.website

paid 8 zillion for bethesda and got 0 fallouts, 0 elder scrolls, 1 flopped new IP

104h ago

3 sources

gamesradar.comBethesda union blasts Microsoft as Xbox layoffs hit the Fallout and Elder Scrolls studio, too: "When will this cycle of cuts in pursuit of ever-greater profits end?"ign.comThe Elder Scrolls Online Has Reportedly Lost 'As Much as Half' of Its Development Team as Its...playfront.deBethesda: Focus on Fallout and The Elder Scrolls after Xbox layoffs

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Reports: Elder Scrolls Online team hit by major layoffs

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