In light of Xbox’s recent mass layoffs, there has been plenty of concern regarding the fate of the many projects likely under development at ZeniMax. Previous reports had indicated that anyone not working on either Fallout or The Elder Scrolls would be targeted by the layoffs.
However, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has noted that, while the company is going to be affected, it won’t be reduced to just working on the two franchises.
It is worth noting that there are plenty of studios that operate under the larger ZeniMax umbrella. Along with Bethesda Game Studios itself, the company also includes id Software, MachineGames, and Arkane. In a social media post, Schreier has said that the company will continue to work on its other franchises, including Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake.
“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,” he posted.
Xbox announced its layoffs through a letter sent to its employees and then published online, titled “Resetting Xbox”. Through it, CEO Asha Sharma announced that Xbox was cutting around 1,600 jobs today, with another 1,600 planned for the rest of the fiscal year. Along with this, she also revealed that Double Fine Productions and Compulsion Games are going independent, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are being sold to another company.
“I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building Xbox,” said Sharma. “Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved Xbox. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.”
Along with the four studios listed, Sharma also revealed that Arkane is going into consultation to “review potential strategic options”. What this means for the studio’s current project – Marvel’s Blade – remains to be seen.
Sharma also announced that Xbox is getting a new COO. With the now-former COO Dave McCarthy retiring after a 17-year stint at Xbox, the role is being taken up by Helen Chiang, who previously worked on growing Xbox Live and Minecraft developer Mojang.
“She will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results,” said Sharma about Chiang.
The Xbox division as a whole is also undergoing streamlining, with many of the management layers across the company being reduced. Sharma noted that, in some instances, Xbox had 14 layers of management between studios and decision makers. This led to slower decisions and blurred accountability.
Moving forward, the company is aiming to have a maximum of five management layers for its various studios to deal with, and where possible, it will try to go down to only three management layers in a bid to ensure that the process of development is simplified with things like shared services, cleaner code bases, and reduced vendor spend.
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
Xbox Layoffs Won’t Stop Work on Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein
Source: Buzz Trends Updates
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