Fallout 76 Quest Devs React to Xbox Layoffs Amid Fallout Community Fears
Xbox began rolling out layoffs yesterday, cutting roughly 3,200 positions across the rest of this year. Early reporting suggested ZeniMax and Bethesda were among the hardest hit, though no precise breakdown was provided at the time.
In the days since, more details have come in from developers who worked on Fallout content. Multiple people connected to the Fallout 76 team say they’ve lost their jobs, with many of them specifically tied to quest design. That has sparked fresh anxiety in the community about what happens to Fallout 76 next—and whether Xbox is changing pace on development.
Multiple Fallout Quest Designers Have Been Laid Off By Xbox
Several affected developers shared the news on LinkedIn. One of them is Stephanie Zachariadis, who was hired by Bethesda in 2021. Before joining Bethesda, she worked on Fallout: London, a fan-made project, and later moved over to Fallout 76.
Zachariadis said she expected the impact to arrive on “October 23rd 2077,” but instead called today “doomsday.” She wrote that after five years she was laid off from her role as a quest designer at Bethesda Game Studios. She also added that the change means she can no longer make cheeky Fallout references in her social posts, and she asked anyone with openings in quest or narrative design to reach out.
Lead quest designer Joshua Moretto was also impacted. He said he’s “proud” of seven years on the project and of the time spent helping lead quest design for the game. He offered condolences to others in the same situation, wished remaining colleagues good luck, and said that if anyone needs a 16-year industry veteran with quest and narrative experience, he appears to be available again.
Griffin DeClaire, an associate quest designer at Bethesda, reported that he was also let go. He didn’t specify which project he was working on, but he noted that, like Zachariadis, he previously worked on Fallout mod projects. DeClaire wrote that he was notified he’d been laid off from Bethesda Game Studios, and he said his hands were shaking while typing because he had just been told about a raise on Friday, which he described as giving him a false sense of security. He also said he wasn’t sure what his next steps would be.
What These Layoffs Could Mean For Fallout 76
Xbox has not detailed what the cuts will mean for Fallout 76’s future. Still, fans are concerned. Some believe this could mark the end of the game—or at least the end of major expansion plans. With reports suggesting the quest design team took some of the steepest hits, players say it becomes difficult to see how the current roadmap can realistically continue as planned.
Because of this uncertainty, Fallout 76 is now being compared by players to The Elder Scrolls Online. In that case, fans have been told that additional future content is being reconsidered after layoffs affected the team. This comparison comes even as it has been reported that Xbox wanted ZeniMax and Bethesda to place more focus on both the Fallout and Elder Scrolls intellectual property.
