Kurt Kuhlmann became a central figure for The Elder Scrolls in the two decades and change he spent as lore expert and world builder at the studio, and, from where he’s standing now, Bethesda owner Xbox’s decision to cut veteran devs from the team working on The Elder Scrolls 6 doesn’t make a lick of sense.
Kuhlmann discusses his experience at Bethesda with FRVR, noting that layoffs didn’t happen until after Microsoft acquired the company and Zenimax. He echoes criticism from the Bethesda union, arguing that the layoffs didn’t hit the “14 layers of management” decried in Microsoft’s plan to streamline Xbox. Rather, dozens of experienced, hands-on developers were cut.
“They weren’t laying off the people managing things,” he says. “They were laying off people that were creating the game.” He describes the impacted devs as “very senior and longtime, like, the best people you can imagine.”
Devs impacted by layoffs at Bethesda include 27-year veteran Christiane Meister, a core artist for Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4; Ray Lederer, the last Skyrim concept artist still at the studio, and a Bethesda artist of 18 years; and Ben Carnow, whose weapon and creature designs are a fundamental part of Fallout and Elder Scrolls lore.
“I can’t say I understand it, even from a pure just business money point of view,” Kulhmann says of the layoffs. “If you want the money from [The Elder Scrolls 6], why would you fire people who are working on that and are going to make it happen, and make it better, and get it done faster? Why would you do that?”
The layoffs followed a report that new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is pushing Bethesda to speed up production for new Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games, stoking fears that the “do more with less” management mentality afflicting many companies had finally come for the studio.
“These aren’t people that screwed up, were slacking off, or bad at their jobs,” Kuhlmann adds, having worked with many of the people affected. “That means anyone could be laid off. That means you have no way to know. You can’t just be good and work harder and know you’re safe.”
In August, Sharma, amid an executive visit that saw union members protest outside the studio campus, said she’d seen a “live playthrough” of The Elder Scrolls 6.