Highlights
- Maryland WARN filings confirm 379 ZeniMax layoffs, including 213 at ZeniMax Online Studios.
- The ZeniMax Online Studios workforce has shrunk by more than 60% since mid-2025.
- The layoffs also hit Bethesda Game Studios and id Software, while ESO's roadmap is being revised.
Microsoft's latest Xbox restructuring has hit ZeniMax Online Studios harder than previously known. Newly disclosed Maryland WARN filings confirm that 379 employees across Microsoft's ZeniMax operations in Maryland will be laid off. The total includes 213 employees at ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer of The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO), and 166 employees at ZeniMax Media's Rockville office, which includes Bethesda Game Studios.
The layoffs will take effect on Sep 4, 2026, and provide the clearest breakdown yet of Microsoft's latest Xbox job cuts. Earlier this week, the company announced plans to eliminate 3.2K Xbox positions through fiscal 2027, with 1.6K employees leaving immediately and another 1.6K cuts scheduled before the end of the fiscal year (FY).
Maryland WARN Filings Reveal the Full Scale of ZeniMax Layoffs
According to the Maryland Department of Labor, ZeniMax Online Studios accounted for more than half of the confirmed Maryland layoffs. MMORPG reported that the 166 employees listed under ZeniMax Media include Bethesda Game Studios staff because both teams operate from the same Rockville office.
Separately, a Texas WARN filing confirmed another 136 layoffs at id Software, extending the impact of Microsoft's restructuring across multiple Xbox studios.
The filings also show how dramatically ZeniMax Online has shrunk over the past year. Maryland labor records show the studio laid off 62 employees in July 2025 following Microsoft's cancellation of Project Blackbird, an MMO that had reportedly been in development for nearly a decade.
Combined with this year's 213 layoffs, the studio has lost 275 employees in roughly a year. Game Developer previously reported that ZOS United-CWA represented 461 employees when Microsoft recognized the union in late 2024. Based on those figures and the WARN filings, the studio has lost more than 60% of that workforce since mid-2025.
Former senior content designer, Katherine Souza, stated on Bluesky that roughly half of the active developers working on content, events, dungeons, and seasonal updates were affected, while clarifying that she could not speak for the studio's overall headcount.
Meanwhile, veteran developers and staff, including associate design director, Mike Finnigan, senior community engagement manager, Gina Bruno, senior quality assurance (QA) tester, Page Branson, senior user researcher, Elisabeth Whyte, and senior software engineer, Dustin Thurston, have also publicly confirmed their departures.
Elder Scrolls Online Roadmap Changes After the Layoffs
The cuts come despite ESO's long-running commercial success. A LinkedIn profile previously maintained by former ESO UX lead, Gary Boodhoo, later shared by industry tracker @bogorad222 on X, stated that the MMO generated around $15M USD in monthly revenue for more than a decade.
Following the layoffs, the ESO development team reported that Season One remains its immediate priority. The studio also confirmed that its previously shared roadmap will be revised as it reassesses future development.
The latest WARN filings offer the strongest official evidence yet of how deeply Microsoft's restructuring has reshaped one of Xbox's largest live service studios.
