Microsoft layoffs hit Maryland video game workers in Montgomery, Baltimore counties

Maryland is losing more than 350 jobs as software giant Microsoft makes deep slashes to its video game divisions.

According to a notice filed with the state labor department this week, 166 roles were cut at ZeniMax Media in Rockville and 213 at ZeniMax Online Studios in Cockeysville, both of which are owned by Microsoft. The cuts will take effect Sept. 4.

Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Rockville-based Bethesda Game Studios, for $7.5 billion in 2021. The award-winning video game publisher is behind popular titles such as “Fallout,” “Starfield,” “Doom” and The Elder Scrolls. ZeniMax Online runs the online version of The Elder Scrolls.

Maryland is home to numerous video game software companies, and its gaming industry contributed more than $1 billion to the state economy in 2023, according to the Entertainment Software Association, a video game trade group.

ZeniMax didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The cuts come as Microsoft faces a severe “hardware crisis” due to rising costs for console components, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said in a memo, according to the Associated Press. On Monday, the company said it was cutting 4,800 jobs from its global workforce, including 1,600 Xbox workers. More layoffs are expected over the next fiscal year. ZeniMax Media also saw layoffs in June 2025, impacting nearly 200 workers.

Layoff rumors were going around at Bethesda for a while, said Simon Prefontaine, a game designer who lost his job in the cuts.

Some people lost access to the company’s email and collaboration software the morning layoffs were announced, said Prefontaine, who is a union member. The studio unionized in 2024 under the Communications Workers of America.

The union estimates the Rockville studio lost 15-20% of its staff, including employees who have been with the company for years, Prefontaine said.

The cuts included company veterans who worked on things like character and weapon art. He referenced Dane Olds, the lead visual designer at Bethesda Game Studios, who announced the sudden end to his 20-year tenure in a post on LinkedIn.

It’s “hard to overstate” their contribution, said Prefontaine. “Dane is responsible for some of the most iconic visual design that we’ve had, including weapon design.”

Billy Eichner, a senior encounter designer at ZeniMax Online Studios, worked for the company for 14 years. He said being abruptly let go in a Teams meeting with little reasoning was traumatic. He’s uncertain about what’s next as he hears colleagues in his industry navigate job searches for almost a year.

“I’ve worked my entire life to be in this industry and now I have to determine whether or not I want to continue in this industry,” he said. “That’s not a good feeling to have.”

Eichner also wonders what will happen to the game he and his teams were working on.

“I don’t see how these short-term decisions are going to lead to anything good in the long-term,” he said.