Image: Bethesda Softworks
Xbox has just confirmed some pretty dire news: it’s drastically restructuring its business which has sadly resulted in the loss of 1,600 employees, with a further 1,600 set to depart within the next 12 months.
One particular area of the business that has been affected is Zenimax Media, which is responsible for Bethesda Softworks along with multiple development studios. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has reported that Zenimax will be “impacted significantly” by Xbox’s big reset, with studios such as iD Software and ZeniMax Online Studios set to cut a sizeable portion of staff.
In addition, Schreier states that Bethesda will refocus its efforts to its biggest franchises, which include The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, DOOM, Wolfenstein, and Quake. We won’t lie, we didn’t think Quake was a particularly big IP these days, but there you go.
ZeniMax will be impacted significantly by the reorganization but will NOT be reduced to only Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, despite rumors over the last few weeks. The publisher will also still work on Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2026-07-06T13:36:37.175Z
It does make sense to ensure that Bethesda’s most successful franchises receive more attention if it helps get them out of the door. The Elder Scrolls 6 has been in development for an absurd amount of time at this stage with seemingly no release window in sight.
How this affects the Switch 2 going forwards is anybody’s guess, but we’re hopeful that Bethesda will commit to more ports going forward. Though they both arrived with some teething issues, Skyrim and Fallout 4 are already available on Switch 2, while Oblivion Remastered is due to launch on 11th August, 2026.
Do you think this is the right move for Bethesda? Which franchises would you like to see more of in the future? Let us know with a comment.
[source bsky.app]
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Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.
