Ahead of any official confirmation about Xbox’s sweeping layoffs, many assumed Bethesda & The Elder Scrolls would be largely unscathed. After all, The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the most anticipated games out there, right alongside GTA 6. But while Bethesda itself is safe from shutting down, that doesn’t mean layoffs haven’t impacted the future of Elder Scrolls. In fact, the long-running Elder Scrolls Online may be in big trouble.
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Kotaku reports that “as much as half” of the Elder Scrolls Online team at ZeniMax has been laid off. The MMORPG is 12 years old and has become the go-to way for many fans to enjoy new Elder Scrolls content while waiting on ES6. It recently started a massive overhaul, including an exciting roadmap full of new features and quality-of-life updates. Now, that may be coming to a close as Xbox shifts its focus on getting the next main series games for Elder Scrolls and Fallout across the finish line.
Elder Scrolls Online Team Hit With Layoffs Just Ahead of Big Season One Release
Despite its flaws, The Elder Scrolls Online remains one of the most popular and beloved MMORPGs out there. And the recent changes as part of the Seasons overhaul have been pretty well received. But now, it seems like some of what ZeniMax promised may never come to be. Several longtime ZeniMax Online employees who have been working on Elder Scrolls Online have been laid off, according to posts on LinkedIn.
Though there’s never a good time for such devastating news, the timing for ESO is especially bleak. The team is gearing up to launch the highly anticipated Season One, which was meant to be a new beginning for the MMORPG. It will add long-requested features like solo dungeons and naval combat, including underwater exploration. And so much more has already been teased via the Season 2026 roadmap, including a return to Skyrim. But this was all before Xbox shifted strategy and laid off multiple developers working on ESO.
The Promising Elder Scrolls Online 2026 Roadmap Will “Be Shifting” in the Wake of Layoffs
So, what happens now? The MMORPG isn’t shutting down (at least, not yet). But with so many longtime developers laid off, it’s very likely that things are going to change. And that includes the exciting roadmap of future content and updates previously shared for The Elder Scrolls Online. In a recent post on the Elder Scrolls Online forums, community manager Jessica Folsom confirmed that “beyond Season One, the roadmaps we previously shared will be shifting.”
From the sounds of it, we can anticipate getting most, if not all, of the content confirmed for Season One, which is set to launch on July 8th. But as for what ZeniMax previously teased for Season Two and beyond? That’s likely all up in the air. In the wake of the layoffs, the team isn’t yet ready to share what’s changing. But it’s confirmed that the roadmap for ESO going forward won’t be the same as it was earlier this year.
And honestly? That’s a shame. The revamp for the game has been well received by its community, and it’s really just getting started in Season Zero. Though Microsoft is no doubt in a tough position financially, it’s a shame the team at Xbox Game Studios couldn’t let ZeniMax cook a bit longer. Now, it looks likely that the game’s revamp could be stalled at best. At worst, we might be looking at a full shutdown in the future as Xbox puts pressure on Bethesda to deliver on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the next main series Fallout game.
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