Xbox Cuts 210 ZeniMax and Obsidian Jobs as 20% Gaming Downsizing Spreads Across States
Updated
Updated · Game File | Stephen Totilo · Jul 8
Xbox Cuts 210 ZeniMax and Obsidian Jobs as 20% Gaming Downsizing Spreads Across States
1 articles · Updated · Game File | Stephen Totilo · Jul 8
Summary
WARN notices show Xbox will eliminate 158 ZeniMax jobs in Texas and 52 Obsidian roles in California, with the layoffs set to take effect on Sept. 4.
Asha Sharma tied the cuts to an unhealthy Xbox business and a 20% downsizing of the gaming team, part of 1,600 layoffs announced Monday and 3,200 planned across Microsoft gaming by June 2027.
Texas losses span 96 roles in Richardson, 40 remote workers tied to that office and 22 in Austin, hitting id Software and other Bethesda teams; about 146 of the 158 affected workers are unionized under the CWA.
The notices show broad studio impact beyond platform teams and spun-off studios, cutting jobs from engine programmers and QA testers at ZeniMax to art directors and designers at Obsidian, while Washington separately logged 605 Microsoft layoffs including some gaming roles.