u/-LastGrail-

The official WARN notice states that Zenimax Online Studios suffered a layoff of 213 people. Where Zenimax Media Inc. suffered a layoff of 166.

Previous rumour from Jason Schreir on significant layoffs at ZeniMax Online (Elder Scroll Online): https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/WVtO5kohQR

In a 2025 article from Jason Schreir (per Wikipedia) there was over 300 employees at ZeniMax Online Studios: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-07-03/microsoft-s-xbox-cancels-blackbird-an-upcoming-game-that-impressed-executives

Source: https://labor.maryland.gov/employment/warn.shtml

“Studios in the Bethesda organization like id Software (Doom) and ZeniMax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Online) are not shutting down but are cutting a significant number of staff this morning, per sources.”

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/jasonschreier.bsky.social/post/3mpydldy43226

Building on the Bloomberg report of significant layoffs at Xbox there was more tidbits on behind the scenes at Xbox.

On Gears of War PS5

>“A PlayStation 5 version of the new Gears of War game was in development and had been planned for release until Sharma changed tack, according to the people familiar with Xbox strategy. Retailers had been preparing to open pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 version, and many Xbox employees were surprised by the announcement.”

Halo at State of Play

>“Sharma and her team also pulled a Halo trailer that was due to appear at a PlayStation event last week, potentially damaging the relationship between the two companies, according to people familiar with the change of plans.”

Hardware cost crisis at Xbox

>“In the email to staff, Sharma reiterated that Xbox is facing a component crisis, and that by the 2027 holiday season she expects the company to be paying five times as much for storage and memory components as it did in 2024. As a result, she wrote, they will have to change their overall strategy for the next-gen console, code-named Helix.”

>“While the entire industry is facing a components crisis, we believe we have been impacted more greatly than many of our peers due to the choices we made over the last half decade,” she wrote. “We are currently unable to make as many consoles as players want to buy, and we need a new business model and partnerships for hardware as we remain committed to Helix.”

EDIT: Xbox are also planning to slash budgets for marketing and other areas of business:

>"Xbox is also planning to significantly slash budgets for marketing and some other areas of the business, the people said."

More in the article to be read: Here

Dring mentioned prior that Halo was pulled from the State of Play: https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/HpLAcJ49Ss

They describe that a Baldur’s Gate 1 remake is possible but can only confirm Baldur’s Gate 2 specifically.

Key Quotes

“While Baldur's Gate 4 is inevitable, ahead of that it looks like we'll see the resurrection of BioWare's original games—specifically Baldur's Gate 2, though from what we've heard it's likely both games are getting the ol' remake treatment.”

“According to a source familiar with the project, Martens is already working on the Baldur's Gate 2 remake. If both games are making a comeback—which makes a lot more sense than just the second game, given that it's a direct continuation of BG1—this suggests that the remakes are being developed concurrently. If that's the case, and they launch together, that's an incredible amount of roleplaying on offer.”

“Hasbro says it won't comment on rumours, and Kevin Martens did not respond in time for publication.”

Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-baldurs-gate-2-remake-is-apparently-in-development-with-the-original-co-lead-designer-returning/

Key Quotes

>I have been in contact with a source within Ubisoft itself for quite some time. This source was able to pass on all this information to me previously. I had not shared this before in order to conceal the identity of this contact. Now that so much information is out in the air, I feel safer sharing this information with you.

>The game will be a remake of Rayman Legends, but in 2.5D. So the game will still primarily (I will come back to this) be a 2D platformer. Rayman has also received a minor redesign. He now has two separate eyes instead of a Sonic-style eye, has more detail on his shoes, and has his sweater drawstrings neatly tied in a knot. Rayman and Globox are getting various new skins, including looks from games like Rayman 1 and Rayman 3, but also crossovers like Astrobot and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

>The remake will feature 3D segments in the style of Star Fox, where you fly on the back of a dragon and shoot down enemies. The game will also get a real story with a new villain.

>I have seen photos and screenshots of these 3D models, skins, and press events. However, I unfortunately cannot share these to protect the identity of my contact within Ubisoft. But I can guarantee that you will see more of this next week when the game is actually released.

Source: https://n1up.nl/news/rayman-remake-gaat-rayman-legends-retold-heten/

Key Quotes

>"One quarter of the company’s workers are under threat: this adds up to 95 lost jobs."

>This project, started 8 years ago and led by Guillaume de Fondaumière, David Cage and Grégorie Diaconu, was supposed to be a “reasonably-sized” project and was planned for a much earlier release. Over all these years, nobody questioned the business model or how the game was to become profitable. Catastrophic project management resulted in iteration after iteration, exhausting the team and leading production straight to disaster.

>It’s sad to say, nobody is surprised by this outcome. Worker representatives have sounded the alarm about the project’s colossal risk level numerous times. In front of employees, management arrogantly explained that success was a given for Spellcasters Chronicles, thanks to “30 years of experience” of the decision-makers. In front of the workers’ council, management refused to consider other scenarios and to plan accordingly. Failure was never an option, never thought about, never planned for: incompetence led us here today. Workers pay for management’s misguided ways.

>Management is trying to lay off the entirety of the Spellcasters Chronicles team, and pretends that this team’s skills have no link at all with those of the Star Wars Eclipse team – even after training.

>The same causes lead to the same problems: Star Wars Eclipse entered production at the same time as Spellcasters, with the same directors, and its development is proving just as complicated. 

More context in the article

Source: https://www.stjv.fr/en/2026/05/spellcasters-canceled-and-layoffs-at-quantic-dream-who-could-possibly-have-foreseen-this/

SIE spokesperson:

“Players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual. A one-time online check is required to confirm the game's license, after which no further check-ins are required."

Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-users-report-new-online-license-checks-for-digital-games/1100-6539651/

Old rumours: https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/G01OPweCBC

https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1sy530f/update\_psn\_drm\_issue\_related\_to\_14\_day\_refund/

Per Google Translate:

“According to our information, Spiders, the Parisian studio behind numerous action-RPGs since its founding in 2008, will soon close. Lacking a buyer for this Nacon subsidiary, the court-appointed administrator in charge of the French publishing group's restructuring will request its liquidation from the commercial court this Wednesday, a " mere formality at this stage " according to several sources close to the matter.”

“For the past few days, CV updates and self-study sessions have replaced work on future productions for the studio behind GreedFall , Steelrising , Mars War Logs , and The Technomancer . The Works Council is organizing the purchase of equipment by employees who wish to do so, and the Spiders staff has chosen to transform tonight's final weekly drink into a formal tribute to the studio's eighteen years of existence. French law theoretically requires the liquidator to carry out layoffs within fifteen days of the court ruling.”

Source: https://www.origami.ng/spiders-greedfall-steelrising-nacon-fermeture/