ZeniMax Impacted By Xbox Layoffs, Will Focus On “Biggest Franchises”

With Xbox laying off 1,600 employees on Monday and another 2,600 over the rest of the fiscal year, every single studio under the umbrella is being impacted. That includes ZeniMax.

Over the course of a few weeks, there has been rampant rumor and speculation regarding what the future could hold for the company behind franchises like Fallout and Elder Scrolls. And while it was always expected that it would be safe from divestment or closure, they weren’t expected to get out of the layoffs unscathed. And now there are reports on just what is happening to the Xbox subsidiary.

A Focus On Core Franchises

According to Bloomberg, all of the studios under ZeniMax—Bethesda, id Software, MachineGames, and ZeniMax Online Studios—will face a “significant overhaul”.

As part of this overhaul, ZeniMax will focus on its biggest franchises such as Fallout, Doom, The Elder Scrolls, and Wolfenstein.

Whether that means quicker releases in these franchises remains to be seen. The Elder Scrolls VI has been in development for almost a decade, while Fallout 4 is now 11 years old. Doom has its first expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages, dubbed Revelations, launching this week. Finally, the next Wolfenstein title from MachineGames is well in development, though it hasn’t been publicly shown yet.

One game that wasn’t mentioned is Starfield, which received its Terran Armada expansion in April. It’s unclear if Bethesda will continue to develop content for the game, or if it’s moving on from the franchise entirely.

What do you think the changes at ZeniMax will mean for its big franchises? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord.

In other news, read about State of Decay 3’s future and whether it’ll still release on Xbox Game Pass. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.