Xbox’s rumored reset has just gone into effect, and CEO Asha Sharma has come out with her vision for a slimmer Xbox division, a vision that includes Bethesda going back to basics.
Bethesda focusing on Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein
“The most significant restructure in Xbox history” is underway as Asha Sharma announced the brand will be cutting 3,200 of its jobs, with five of its first-party studios leaving the Xbox family in different capacities. Double Fine and Compulsion Games will become independent once more, and Hellblade maker Ninja Theory, as well as State of Decay 3 developer Undead Labs, are still in discussions to be sold off.
Marvel’s Blade studio Arkane has the haziest future of the five soon-to-be former Xbox studios, and it has one of Xbox’s most promising games in development, the brand’s one and only Marvel game. The project has reportedly gone over budget and suffered an internal delay, putting Arkane in the unfortunate position of being the only Bethesda studio in danger of being closed down. However, that’s not to say the other Bethesda teams won’t be feeling the effects of Xbox’s reset.
More Quake may be on the way
ZeniMax will be impacted significantly by the reorganization but will NOT be reduced to only Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, despite rumors over the last few weeks. The publisher will also still work on Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2026-07-06T13:36:37.175Z
To supplement Sharma’s very long and detailed memo she publicly shared on X, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier shared what he’s learned about how Xbox’s ZeniMax teams will be affected by Xbox’s big shift in vision. Via Bluesky, Schreier stated that Bethesda Game Studios, ZeniMax Online, id Software, and MachineGames will shift their focus toward the biggest Bethesda franchises. Of course, that includes Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, but Schreier added that Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein will also be part of that picture.
While it’s one of id Software’s classic IPs, it’s surprising to see Quake named as a franchise Bethesda will be shifting its focus towards, as between these five franchises, it’s arguably the one that’s had the smallest presence over the past few decades. id is currently wrapping up its Doom: The Dark Ages cycle with the imminent Revelations DLC, and Doom reboot series director Hugo Martin has previously expressed interest in continuing to make new Doom games for a very long time. Where and how Quake will fit into that future will be interesting to see, that is, if the IP doesn’t go to another Bethesda team, like Wolfenstein did more than a decade ago.
What about indiana jones?
Despite the huge success of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, it doesn’t look like MachineGames will be getting another crack at Indy. After the game’s 2024 release, there were rumors that Machine was working on multiple new projects, one of which was thought by many to be a follow-up to The Great Circle. Now, it seems that the studio will be returning to the beloved Wolfenstein series, which, considering that it’s been nearly a decade since Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, would be a move welcomed by many who’ve been waiting ever since for the third mainline Wolfenstein game.
As for Bethesda Game Studios, a Starfield sequel wouldn’t have seen the light of day for another decade plus anyway, as it’s been confirmed that BGS will return to Fallout once The Elder Scrolls 6 is out the door. There’s still a big question mark about when and from whom the next Fallout game will come, as fans have been fervently clamoring for a new entry ever since the wildly popular and successful Fallout series debuted two years ago. Whether fans really will have to wait until the early 2030s for BGS’ Fallout 5 or if a different Xbox studio like inXile Entertainment or Obsidian will step in with a smaller-scoped New Vegas-like entry in the meantime remains to be seen.
The post Bethesda to Refocus on Biggest Franchises Following Xbox Reset appeared first on VICE.
