Approximately 440 jobs were cut across Bethesda and ZeniMax after Asha Sharma announced the Xbox reset. Despite these losses, the development of Bethesda's flagship project is apparently untouched.

TES 6 was announced eight years ago, and so far, the studio hasn't shared much about it. Many were expecting the game's development to suffer due to the mass layoffs that have affected 3,200 jobs across Xbox.

YouTuber MrMattyPlays asked Bethesda a series of questions. Among them was whether the development of The Elder Scrolls VI was affected by the layoffs or not.

"The roadmap is unaffected," Bethesda reportedly said, as revealed in the July 23, 2026 video. The studio did not go over any details regarding the layoffs or the game's development.

This is good news given that the game has been in the making for over eight years now. The last mainline game in the franchise was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, released in 2011.

Despite the layoffs, Bethesda's hands are full. The studio recently announced four new games in the Fallout franchise, including the next mainline entry, Fallout 5. The title is reportedly in pre-production already.

Moreover, the studio is also working on new updates for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, released in 2025.

"Nothing we can talk about right now," Bethesda said, answering another question, "but the team working on remasters is focused on the Switch 2 launch, which has optimizations we hope to bring back to console/PC."

However, on July 9, 2026, IGN reported that anonymous employees had said that the job cuts would have a "substantial and cascading effect" on the development of The Elder Scrolls 6.

Given this report, Bethesda's update, though positive, may surprise some.

Union protest against Xbox layoffs saw hundreds in attendance

Bethesda Game Studios union workers organized a protest on July 15, 2026, to speak up against the mass layoffs. The event transpired after Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the axing of 3,200 jobs across the company.

"Microsoft and ZeniMax leadership have made the devastating decision to slash over 440 positions across BGS, ZOS, id, ZWU (QA) and ZeniMax corporate (including CTO and CSUR)," the union wrote as per Windows Central.

"Because we organized and certified our Unions, we have hard-won legal rights and protections that non-unionized studios simply do not have."

Hundreds of employees from Bethesda and ZeniMax showed up for the protest, holding up signs against the layoffs.

Microsoft had earlier stated that they remain committed to supporting the laid-off employees during this difficult time.

How do you feel about the layoffs at Xbox? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Prit Chauhan