Today at HQ, we had special guests from Microsoft leadership. We refuse to let executives forget what game studios are actually made of: their workers. As welcome gift, we placed hundreds of flags outside, honoring all of the game workers who have been laid off by Microsoft in 2026 (so far).

Developers like Eric just want to make games that enrich player's lives. But too often, multi-billion dollar companies like Microsoft, Sony, and EA want to enrich shareholders via layoffs. #SaveGameWorkers and tell these companies to stop treating game developers as disposable: shorturl.at/5ruBE

The August issue is here! Find it at www.penumbric.com/currentissue... and pdf www.penumbric.com/currentissue... #fiction #poetry #art #scifi #fantasy #horror #magazine

There are no video games without video game developers. Trillionaire corporations will continue to treat devs as line items on a balance sheet unless we fight back. Join us on August 18th to #SaveGameWorkers, as we rally across nine studios in the US and Canada. More location details to come soon.

when we say young suns is about a revolutionary future, we mean it! all the characters have different ideas and relationships to what liberation looks like for them, but all of them are aligned in working towards a better world even if the methods aren't the same

KO_OP: 🪐 Wishlist Young Suns on Steam!@ko-op.com · 6d ago

Politics-free games don’t exist. We’ve always been open about where we stand, and Young Suns is no different. You can help a queer- and trans-run studio make this industry a better place for everyone by wishlisting Young Suns on Steam store.steampowered.com/app/4149610/...

Developers like Atran Raikany from ZOS are responsible for making the game worlds we love feel alive. Microsoft's lay-offs aren't just short sighted business decisions - they're threats to the future of these worlds. #SaveGameWorkers and tell Microsoft to end these layoffs: shorturl.at/5ruBE

Want to once again remind you that the best way to view pixel art is to order fine prints of it from my shop and free them from the tyranny of the screen! www.inprnt.com/gallery/mech...

-Skeever Nivo: information broker: Thieves Guild: Daggerfall Story Quests- #ESOFam #ESO #ESO_JP #ElderScrolls

Kaiju sketching

User researchers like Elisabeth Whyte made sure players' voices were heard in your favorite Xbox games. On July 6th, Elisabeth and her entire team at Zenimax were laid off. Now, make your voice heard and #SaveGameWorkers by telling Microsoft to end their cycles of layoffs: shorturl.at/5ruBE

End cretaceus hell

In our new series #SaveGameWorkers, you’ll meet the people who make your favorite games at Xbox…until they get laid off. Today, meet Eric Bakutis from Zenimax Online Studios. #SaveOurDevs by telling Microsoft to end their cycles of layoffs: feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/ide...

Another painting from my show with Gallery Nucleus, August 1-16th!

CALLING ALL LOVERS OF WILD AND WEIRD 70s FANTASY BY WOMEN (we owe them a *colossal* debt re: the genre, in my honest opinion) This is a great deal. Lee's work has been hard to source for me, most of it is out of print and obscure, my local libraries don't have it. Get yourself some good-ass fantasy!

Humble@humblebundle.com · 4w ago

A mysterious woman awakens in the heart of a dormant volcano and comes forth into a brutal ancient world in The Birthgrave. The Tanith Lee Collection supports Binc Foundation | https://bit.ly/4pimpsM

AI is next level gatekeeping. Its proponents don’t just tell you that you’re incapable of doing a thing, they imply that nobody else is gonna be able to do it either, and suggest you pay them to do it for you, badly. Can’t be having with that nonsense. I’d rather learn to do things badly for myself

any subs open right now for a 15k word fantasy novella? it's good, I promise

no one wants to live in nets

All done! Now to go through the trials and tribulations of tshirtification. I will probably do pre-orders for these eventually. Not really sure how long this will take though so be patient with me, friends.❤️

NEW: The layoff confirmations are pouring in now. Another WARN notice indicates that a total of 379 ZeniMax employees based in Maryland have been laid off by Microsoft. That includes 213 workers at ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer behind The Elder Scrolls Online.

Le Guin on the idea that there is a secret to getting good at writing.

Trying to finish comms in this heat but i still need money, so who wants a comm for July ?

Theo 🏳️‍🌈🌙 Comms Open@theotimegm.bsky.social · last yr.

Comm's open: B&W sketch: 60€ Full Body Lineart: 120€ Full Body Color: 140-180€ (depending on details) Can draw fantasy, armor, scifi and mecha characters. Contact me by email at theotime.galmiche@gmail.com after reading ToS below. Payment by paypal.

Where to start? After 14+ amazing years of doing truly epic work on the beloved Elder Scrolls franchise (Elder Scrolls Online in specific), today I was among the way-too-large number of employees let go for strategic business reasons. Not sure what's next, but I suppose I'll think of something.

If you are one of the many valuable workers callously laid off for corporate interests today, please consider applying to our hardship fund.

United Videogame Workers-CWA@videogameworkers.bsky.social · last mo.

Proud to announce our HARDSHIP FUND: uvw-cwa.org/hardship-fun... If you've been recently laid off and need support, we got you.

I am among the impacted. If you've ever said something nice online about anything I wrote for ESO (esp. Sharp, Zerith, Corelanya Manor, or Caterwaul Cove) just know that I likely have a screenshot of it in a folder of mine called "Reality Check" that I look at on days like today.

Aftermath@aftermath.site · last mo.

Xbox will lay off 3200 workers and cut four studios loose aftermath.site/xbox-layoffs-j...

Erik was my first lead back when I started in QA. His patient and kind leadership helped me acclimate to the pressure-cooker that is AAA QA in a way I can never forget. He was a wonderful manager and all around awesome person.

Erik Mabry@callmemabry.bsky.social · last mo.

Sad to say I was one of the many,many folks impacted today. 14 years is an unreal amount of time to have contributed to what has endored as one of the great MMOs over the years. In a time when everyone was making a play for this space, we persevered through it all and I couldn’t be more proud.

I want to re-emphasize one part of this Xbox story: Half of the 3,200 cuts are happening today and half are happening in the next 12 months. In other words, even people who survived today's layoffs will have to spend the coming year wondering if they're going to be next.

Howdy y'all, I just got laid off as part of the cuts from Xbox. I have 7 years of experience making full stack web apps, the last 3 of which have been with Zenimax Online Studios supporting The Elder Scrolls Online. Would greatly appreciate if anyone knows of any opportunities!

Gina has been the face of ESO for as long as I can remember. She has brought joy to every community event and laughs to every devstream no matter how big or small.

Gina Bruno@ginabruno.bsky.social · last mo.

After almost 19 years, I am absolutely heartbroken to say my time at ZOS has come to an end. Supporting this game and community has been a dream come true and one I won’t soon forget.

Over the past few months I had the pleasure to mentor Page in narrative design. She's an incredibly fast learner with wonderful stories to tell. She's also a fantastic QA tester and a natural leader.

Page Branson@pagebranson.bsky.social · last mo.

I’ve also been impacted. I’m proud as hell of the work I did starting our union. I have nothing but love for the people I worked with. I’m still in shock, going through a range of emotions. Brushing up my resume now but damn, damn this sucks.

Jeff is a delight who brought curiosity and joy to any project we worked on together. He tackled new and difficult things with humor and experience. He's a fantastic writer to work with.

Jeff Grubb@jeffgrubb.bsky.social · last mo.

XBOX is doing massive layoffs today, and as a member of Zenimax Online Studios, I have been "impacted". I will be looking for a new position.