A note from Bethesda Game Studios, published by Todd Howard on Friday, did not mention the recent mass layoffs across Xbox directly, but it did lay out what comes next for the team as it works on some of the most important game franchises in Microsoft’s portfolio. Howard provided updates on Starfield, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls VI. “We’re investing in our technology, bringing teams closer together, supporting our live games, expanding into new forms of entertainment, and developing the next generation of Bethesda RPGs,” he wrote.
While Starfield, Fallout 76, and The Elder Scrolls Online will continue to receive new content, and several new Fallout projects are in development alongside Fallout 5, Howard made clear that Bethesda Game Studios’ main priority at the moment is getting the next big single-player Elder Scrolls game out the door. “The Elder Scrolls VI is our primary development focus today, with the majority of our team currently working on the next chapter of the franchise,” he wrote. “With over 65 million copies sold, players are still exploring Skyrim 15 years later, but we know it’s been a very long wait for the sequel.”
The game was officially announced back at E3 2018. Almost a decade later, there’s still no release date or even a trailer. “I can tell you, having visited Bethesda and sat with Todd and seen Elder Scrolls playing, it looks amazing, and it’s coming along well,” Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty told Variety last month. “And we’ll make sure to announce it and really reveal it at the right time.”
Reading between the lines of Howard’s update, Xbox has recommitted to more ambitious timelines for getting multiple RPGs out of Bethesda sooner rather than later in the years ahead. “Our teams are now developing The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 on Creation Engine 3, a shared technology platform we’ve been building since Starfield‘s launch,” he wrote. “It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games.”
In addition to partnering with Obsidian Entertainment on a newly greenlit Fallout game, Bethesda will also “partner closely” with ZeniMax Online Studios on the future of Elder Scrolls after multiple rounds of deep cuts at the studio. Previously leading The Elder Scrolls Online and working on an ambitious new sci-fi shooter MMO until it was canceled last summer, ZeniMax Online now sounds like a support studio for Bethesda.
“By aligning more directly across the franchise, we can create even better experiences for players,” Howard said of the new relationship. “Bringing our teams closer together is helping us build a stronger foundation for everything we create next.” Game File reported earlier this week that ZeniMax studio head Jo Burba was part of the recent mass layoffs at Xbox. He took over the studio after longtime head Matt Firor departed following the last round of major cuts in 2025. Other key ZeniMax studio leaders were also laid off, including executive producer Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert, and production director Ala Diaz.
Despite 379 layoffs across ZeniMax and Bethesda Game Studios in Maryland, Howard says new content for The Elder Scrolls Online will continue. His assurances about the future of Bethesda and its beloved RPG franchises come as those who were cut share concerns about the ability of the teams who remain to still deliver quality work without delays, especially with another 1,600 layoffs still to take place across Microsoft’s gaming division over the next 12 months.
