# ZeniMax Online loses senior leadership amid Xbox restructuring cuts

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/another-elder-scrolls-game-is-in-jeopardy-as-xbox-layoffs-hit-heads-of-major-studio/
- Published: 2026-07-16T14:32:23+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-16T20:48:08+00:00
- Original publisher: Polygon
- Original article: https://www.polygon.com/elder-scrolls-online-eso-zenimax-online-studios-xbox-cuts-leadership-team/
- Topics: Entertainment, Gaming

## Key points

- Xbox cuts hit 200+ jobs at Elder Scrolls Online studio ZeniMax Online.
- Studio head and senior directors depart; internal promotions fill leadership gap.
- Workforce down ~40% since 2024, but content roadmap continues unaffected.

## Summary

Xbox's ongoing restructuring, which will see over 3,200 jobs cut company-wide, has claimed more than 200 positions at ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer behind the popular MMO The Elder Scrolls Online. The cuts stripped out much of the studio's senior leadership, prompting a shift to a new internal management structure, and mark the second major wave of layoffs at the studio in as many years.

Among those departing are studio head Joe Burba, who had only held the role since July 2025, executive producer Susan Kath, game director Rich Lambert and production director Ala Diaz, alongside directors overseeing operations, game and audio divisions. ZeniMax Online will now be jointly led by Josh Henderson, formerly head of business operations, and Nick Giacomini, ESO's game director since August 2025, both promoted internally. The studio's workforce has now shrunk by roughly 40 per cent since 2024, though its content roadmap for the remainder of the year remains intact, and a community manager has assured fans that plans to deliver further content are unchanged; publisher ZeniMax Media, which oversees Bethesda Game Studios, was also reported to have suffered significant cuts as part of the same restructuring.

## Coverage

- [Polygon: ZeniMax Online loses senior leadership amid Xbox restructuring cuts](https://www.polygon.com/elder-scrolls-online-eso-zenimax-online-studios-xbox-cuts-leadership-team/)
- [Rock Paper Shotgun: Xbox's gut-wrenching layoffs include the Elder Scrolls Online dev who became studio head around the time of last year's gut-wrenching Xbox layoffs](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/xboxs-gut-wrenching-layoffs-include-the-elder-scrolls-online-dev-who-became-studio-head-around-the-time-of-last-years-gut-wrenching-xbox-layoffs)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.