An internal preview of The Elder Scrolls 6 for Xbox CEO Asha Sharma was met with a prominent display of protest outside Bethesda's offices in Rockville, Maryland. The CWA video game union placed a giant inflatable rat near the building, accompanied by a field of small red flags.
These flags were reportedly planted to represent the 166 developers from Bethesda's Rockville office who were laid off following Microsoft's job cuts. This action is part of an ongoing campaign by the CWA Union against what they term the "Xbox Reset." Previous "Save our Devs" rallies have occurred outside various Xbox-owned offices, including Bethesda's.
Nathan Hahn, a OneBGS-CWA member, stated that the union decided to make their presence visible upon hearing of leadership's visit. He described initial attempts to display posters facing outward from cubicles being denied by management, leading to the use of balloons within cubicles and the external flag display. Hahn emphasized the union's commitment to ensuring fair treatment for impacted Xbox developers and testers, and to opposing widespread layoffs.
Sharma, while not directly commenting on the protest, shared her positive impressions of The Elder Scrolls 6 on X, describing the experience as incredible and the story as even greater. The official Bethesda Game Studios account responded to her post. This interaction occurred against a backdrop of significant strain on the Xbox business, including earlier announced layoffs and recent contractor dismissals from Xbox Game Studios.
Further industry discontent has been voiced by a veteran id Software employee, who reportedly claimed that the depth of recent cuts has made it impossible to create games in the vein of Doom (2016). Additionally, Xbox remains on a boycott list due to Microsoft's involvement with the Israeli military concerning the ongoing conflict in Gaza.