Bethesda details what's next for Fallout and its other franchises amid Xbox cuts

Microsoft's gaming division is in turmoil amid a reorganization of Xbox that includes plans to cut 3,200 jobs and focus more on its highest-profile properties. Bethesda Game Studios shed some more light on what the latter entails as it shared a roadmap of what's ahead for its franchises, including Fallout.

Bethesda said it's in preproduction on Fallout 5, while remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are in the works. It also confirmed that Obsidian is working on its own Fallout game. A recent report claimed that was happening after Xbox canceled a sequel to Avowed and other Obsidian projects.

Along with those remasters and new games, Bethesda is still updating Fallout 76. It said a major expansion is lined up for next year that acts as a prequel to Fallout 3, perhaps setting up the release of the remastered version of that game. New seasons for Fallout Shelter are on the way too, while an unscripted TV show based on the mobile game is in the pipeline.

The Elder Scrolls VI is where most of Bethesda's focus currently lies, though. "The Elder Scrolls VI is our primary development focus today, with the majority of our team currently working on the next chapter of the franchise," it said. "With over 65 million copies sold, players are still exploring Skyrim 15 years later, but we know it's been a very long wait for the sequel." Then-Xbox chief Phil Spencer said in 2023 that The Elder Scrolls VI was still "five-plus years away," so don't expect to play it until at least 2028.

Even with all of these other projects in development, Bethesda isn't leaving Starfield behind. It considers that to still be "an important part of our future." Bethesda plans to deploy "new stories, targeted gameplay improvements and additional updates, while preparing for the launch of new Starborn content next year."

Bethesda's Todd Howard told Bloomberg he would prefer not to discuss the developer's projects until they're almost ready for release. Still, Bethesda revealed the roadmap to give fans a clearer picture of what's ahead. "We do realize we need to find a way to say a bit more so that our fans understand what we're doing and why, while also protecting that moment when you really see the game and you press play," Howard said.

Bethesda laid off dozens of workers as part of the Xbox reorganization, while The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios lost 213 employees at its Maryland location. The latter is now said to have 186 staff — around 40 percent of the workers it had in early 2025. ZeniMax Online will continue to work on its game while collaborating with Bethesda on other Elder Scrolls projects.

Xbox cut 1,600 jobs in early July and announced plans to shed another 1,600 or so over the next year. Video game unions in the US and Canada this week accused Microsoft of unfair labor practices, such as bad faith bargaining and failing to provide workers with notice. Hundreds of workers protested the layoffs at various studio locations this week, including several of Bethesda's.