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Xbox cuts impacted 158 ZeniMax workers in Texas and 52 Obsidian employees in California
Game File | Stephen Totilo • • general
Key Points:
- Microsoft’s gaming division is cutting 158 jobs in Texas across the ZeniMax group, including 96 roles in Richardson, 40 remote roles linked to that office, and 22 in Austin, affecting teams such as id Software and Bethesda.
- These layoffs are part of a larger plan announced by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to reduce 1,600 jobs within Xbox, contributing to a total of 3,200 gaming division cuts by June 2027 due to an unhealthy Xbox business.
- Additional layoffs include 52 positions at Obsidian Entertainment in California, impacting both office-based and remote workers, and over 600 jobs in Washington state across Microsoft, including gaming-related roles.
- The Texas ZeniMax layoffs, involving mostly union-represented workers, will officially take effect on September 4, with a variety of roles affected such as gameplay designers, engine programmers, QA testers, artists, and producers.
- These cuts span multiple studios and roles within Microsoft’s extensive gaming operations, marking a significant downsizing across various locations and teams.
