Bethesda Game Studios Union Files Complaint Over Broken Termination Promises

The Bethesda Game Studios Union (OneBGS) reports that employees were blindsided by termination letters on July 17, a move that directly contradicted earlier assurances provided by management.

Broken Promises and the July 17 Termination

The conflict traces back to Monday, July 6, 2026, when dozens of employees from Bethesda Game Studios across the United States and Canada were informed via video call that they were being laid off. According to the union, these workers were explicitly told they would remain employed until September while the company negotiated severance with the union, a timeline the union noted provided at least some solace and breathing room.

That stability evaporated on July 17. At the end of the day, affected Canadian employees—who were part of the Fallout and Elder Scrolls teams—received termination letters via email. These letters stated that the Canadians were to receive the bare legal minimum in terms of severance: eight weeks of pay in lieu of the minimum legal notice, plus any outstanding vacation pay. Furthermore, the union stated that these employees were to immediately lose their group benefits health insurance.

Legal Complaints and Union Allegations

The OneBGS union has responded by filing a legal complaint, alleging that Bethesda is continuing to violate labor laws in Canada. The union asserts that the company failed to negotiate the terms of these layoffs, which is a required step when a collective agreement is under active bargaining. Ben Carnow, a lead character artist at the studio, shared the news on Bluesky, stating, Microsoft did not negotiate with the Union over layoffs in Montreal as they are legally required to do. Folks lost their healthcare with zero notice. Unconscionable.

This is not the first time the company has faced such accusations. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and CWA Canada unions, of which the Bethesda union is a part, had already filed a joint complaint against Microsoft prior to July 17. Carmel Smyth, the president of CWA Canada, stated that Microsoft had unlawfully fired people without giving notice to or discussing it with the union as the employer is legally obliged to do when we are in the middle of ongoing bargaining a collective agreement. Smyth added that the union would continue to file legal challenges against Microsoft as necessary.

The Timing of Fallout Announcements

The layoffs occurred on the same day Bethesda made a series of high-profile announcements regarding the future of its intellectual property. The company confirmed that Fallout 3 and New Vegas are being remastered, that Obsidian is working on a Fallout game, and that Fallout 5 is in early development. The union and other labor advocates have characterized this timing as a deliberate distraction.

The OneBGS union claimed that Bethesda flooded news sites announcing every expansion, remake, and sequel they could while simultaneously blindsiding employees at its Montreal office. The United Videogame Workers CWA union, an industry-wide organization, previously argued that the timing of this kind of press is intentional, questioning, How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it.

The union also linked to feedback on Xbox’s “Player Voiceforum, which calls out the thousands of Xbox staff and developers laid off by Microsoft in just a few years. The post demands executive accountability—specifically requestingno executive bonuses when there is a layoff—an end to layoffs, andtransparency for players.”

Bethesda and Xbox leadership depend on our labor to make them millions, and yet when we do, we are disposed of. The cycle of workers paying for the mistakes of management ends here. In a