Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 concerns arise following horrific Microsoft update

It’s yet another heartbreakingly sad day for the industry.

Microsoft has today announced significant layoffs which are affecting its gaming division.

As reported and reviewed by IGN, this was relayed to staff via a memo sent by Xbox boss Phil Spencer.

According to IGN’s source, Candy Crush developer King is amongst one of the hardest hit internal studios.

Surprisingly, it’s also believed that Bethesda has been hit by the cuts, particularly its London-based component.

Around 4% of Microsoft’s workforce has reportedly been cut, with around 9,100 employees losing their jobs.

As for the reason, well, it’s the usual corporate drivel.

“Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organisation. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness,” the note began.

“I recognise that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we're seeing currently is based on tough decisions we've made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritise the strongest opportunities,” it continued.

You can read the full note via IGN’s original report.

It goes without saying that GAMINGbible’s thoughts are with all of those affected, especially considering the needlessly positive assertions as to Xbox’s ongoing success.

That’s not what you want to hear alongside mass layoffs; and in fact, already, Phil Spencer is attracting heavy criticism for the note which seemingly celebrates the companies wins more so than actually justifies why hardworking people are losing their jobs.

At a time like this, games do not matter. People matter, and I really hope the industry rallies together to help place these developers and individuals in new positions at new companies and studios where they will have the opportunity to thrive.

Of course though, eventually, fan discussion will inevitably return to the games themselves.

Bethesda’s inclusion in these layoffs is surprising.

Starfield wasn’t exactly a faultless success but nor was it a failure; and the ongoing successes of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls brand surely offer Bethesda some form of protective armour?

With layoffs having affected the company, fans will no doubt be curious to know what this means for Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls VI, both of which feel stuck in an endless limbo already.

The truth is that we don’t know.

It’s unclear precisely which departments and which projects have been affected but it would be naive to assume that this heartbreaking update will not have some kind of negative impact on both production cycles.

Today though, as I said, I personally don’t think that really matters.

The games will arrive when they arrive; in the meantime, we send our thoughts to all of those affected by this latest devastating blow.

The video games industry has to do better to support those that are the very reason it thrives.