The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered developer Virtuos is reportedly in the middle of mass layoffs, affecting up to 300 people. Widespread job losses have populated headlines lately, thanks largely to massive cutbacks across several Microsoft-owned studios. While Virtuos is not under the Microsoft umbrella, the Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered studio has seemingly followed the same unfortunate trend.
Virtuos has made a name for itself for its ports and remasters over the years. The Metal Gear Solid Delta co-developer worked on Horizon Zero Dawn's PC port, the iOS version of XCOM, The Outer Worlds for Switch, and more before taking on Oblivion and the upcoming MGS game. Despite such an impressive resume and a solid level of recent success, the company is apparently joining the ranks of many studios making dramatic cuts to its staff.
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PostsFrench video game journalist Gauthier Andres broke the news in a Bluesky thread, claiming that inside sources reported that Virtuos is laying off roughly 7% of its global workforce. The cuts will reportedly be most severe in China, affecting roughly 200 employees, but an estimated 100 jobs are also at risk across the US and Europe. It's a sudden and surprising move for the company, considering how Virtuos opened a new studio in South Korea mere months ago.
Oblivion Remastered Studio Virtuos Reportedly Laying off Around 300 Employees
CloseAccording to Andres, Virtuo's Oblivion contract did not include royalty bonuses tied to the game's success. Consequently, even though Oblivion Remastered smashed the original's sales figures, its co-developer did not necessarily see profits related to that strong performance. At the end of the remaster's development cycle, Virtuos reportedly reduced bonuses across the team and announced a freeze on raises, inciting job fears among the staff. Now, several months later, it seems those fears were legitimate.
Multiple witnesses also told Andres that Virtuos has been slowly getting more involved with generative AI. It's unclear if this is part of the issue leading to the layoffs, but Xbox is rumored to be replacing hundreds of employees with AI, so such a move wouldn't be without precedent. Regardless of the cause, though, it's a worrying sign for many in the gaming industry. Layoffs and cancellations have abounded recently, and AI is getting more powerful at the same time as game development is getting more expensive.
As official statements from Virtuos and its employees potentially come out, the situation and the causes behind it will become more clear. For now, it seems the layoffs won't affect Oblivion Remastered or the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta.
