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ZeniMax Online loses senior leadership amid Xbox restructuring cuts
Developed over time first seen 4 months ago
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.
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In short
- 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.
How this story developed
- 4 months ago Reactions to the cuts have since crystallised into cautious optimism tempered by concern, with ESO's intact year-end content plans and comparable MMOs' past recoveries offering some reassurance even as the studio's headcount, now roughly 40 per cent below 2024 levels, fuels doubts over its ability to sustain development going forward.
- 4 months ago More than 200 job losses have hit ZeniMax Online Studios as part of Xbox's wider 3,200-role restructuring, with studio head Joe Burba among a wave of senior leaders departing and control passing to newly promoted co-leads Josh Henderson and Nick Giacomini.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Large technology companies sometimes experience market pressures or strategic recalibrations that necessitate substantial restructuring. If Xbox leadership judged the company to be carrying excess capacity or identified underperforming areas, consolidating resources around core strengths could be a rational response. The retention of ZeniMax Online's content roadmap and the promotion of proven internal talent suggest an effort to preserve the studio's creative output even whilst reducing operating costs. From this perspective, whilst undoubtedly difficult, such measures can be essential for maintaining long-term competitive viability in a volatile industry.
The case against
Successive rounds of major layoffs within a single year suggest fundamental failures in strategic planning and workforce management rather than prudent business decisions. The loss of experienced senior leadership, combined with the departure of hundreds of skilled workers, risks material damage to product quality and studio culture that may ultimately harm shareholder value far more than short-term cost savings. These cuts prioritise immediate financial metrics over the wellbeing of employees and the conditions necessary for creative excellence. A company with Xbox's resources should shoulder greater responsibility for sustainable growth rather than repeatedly discarding employees when business conditions shift.
Explained simply
ZeniMax Online Studios is a video game developer best known for The Elder Scrolls Online, a long-running online role-playing game set in the world of Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series. It is part of the wider Microsoft-owned Xbox business through publisher ZeniMax Media, which also includes Bethesda Game Studios.
Xbox has been reorganising its games operations since Microsoft expanded through major acquisitions, including ZeniMax Media in 2021 and Activision Blizzard in 2023. Restructuring can involve job losses, studio closures or changes to who runs teams, as companies seek to combine departments and reduce costs.
The Elder Scrolls Online is supported through regular updates and new content, so changes in a studio’s leadership can matter to its players as well as its staff. The departures come after earlier cuts at the studio, raising questions about how its remaining teams will be managed while work continues on the game.
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Originally published by Polygon as “Another Elder Scrolls game is in jeopardy as Xbox layoffs hit heads of major studio”.