Phil Spencer’s Xbox restructuring has cut 158 ZeniMax jobs in Texas and 52 Obsidian Entertainment jobs in California. The Texas notice says the layoffs will take effect on September 4, and about 146 of those workers are represented by the Communication Workers of America.
Stephen Totilo of Game File reported the WARN layoff notice from Texas and the California WARN notice this morning. The Texas filing splits the 158 positions into 96 roles in Richardson, 40 remote roles tied to that office, and 22 jobs in Austin.
Texas ZeniMax and Richardson
The Richardson site is the publicly listed address for Doom studio id Software. It also includes workers from other Bethesda groups. The Austin location losing 22 jobs is part of the Bethesda gaming team.
The Texas notice lists four gameplay designers, one director of engine technology, two principal engine programmers, nine QA testers, 13 senior QA testers, a senior skybox artist, and three producers among the affected roles.
Obsidian Entertainment in California
The California WARN notice shows 52 Obsidian workers losing their jobs. That total includes 43 workers based in California offices and nine in-state remote workers. The affected roles include two art directors, a recruiter, a narrative designer, and five area designers.
Microsoft says the layoffs are part of a broader Xbox downsizing. Asha Sharma used the phrase "an unhealthy Xbox business" on Monday when describing the company’s broader cutbacks, and Microsoft in said it plans to cut 3,200 jobs from its gaming division by the end of June 2027.
Communication Workers of America
The Texas notice adds a labor wrinkle that the headline total does not resolve. Roughly 146 of the 158 Texas jobs are union-represented, and a ZeniMax official said the company will negotiate with the union to determine the actual termination dates.
That leaves September 4 as the scheduled date on paper for both the Texas-based ZeniMax layoffs and the Obsidian cuts, while the union process can still change when individual workers actually leave. The remaining open question is how far the broader Xbox restructuring will go beyond these WARN notices and the 3,200-job target through June 2027.
