The Elder Scrolls Online‘s Community Manager, Jessica Folsom, has laid out the Zenimax Online Studios team’s “immediate focus” of Season One following the news about an estimated 1,600 layoffs at Xbox on July 6, 2026.
Ex-staffers have started sharing news of their redundancies from the MMO studio on sites like LinkedIn and Bluesky, including Mike Finnigan. Finnigan served as the game’s Associate Design Director and worked at the studio for close to 15 years. Gina Bruno, Principal Creator Engagement Manager, who had a tenure of nearly 19 years and held previous roles in community management, was also let go.
Following the news, ‘An update from the ESO team’ was posted on the game’s official forums, stating that the developer wanted to “reaffirm our commitment to The Elder Scrolls Online.” After Season One, however, the note adds that “the roadmaps we previously shared will be shifting.”
Details on what this shift looks like as of yet are unclear, with Folsom going on to say “stepping back to get our plans straight will let us come back to you with a clear timeline.”
As reported by Kotaku, multiple staffers, both those with and without their roles intact, expressed to the site “a deep uncertainty as to how The Elder Scrolls Online would continue to function with so few people remaining.” Kotaku also claims a email was sent out, understanding that it says the Season One update “will continue as planned” alongside Doom’s DLC and QuakeCon, but that “no information on future updates or iterations of these things” was available.
Bloomberg stated that Bethesda itself will see a shift to focus on its largest franchises, which includes The Elder Scrolls, but no specific mention of the MMO has been made so far.
What the future looks like for ESO remains to be seen right now, but Season One is set to launch tomorrow on Wednesday, July 8, featuring a free questline for all players that includes a return of the Thieves Guild. Here, you’ll be tasked with working to unite three gangs and “overcome a dangerous new group.”
