Game Developer revealed that a giant inflatable rat marked Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's visit to Bethesda's office in Rockville, Maryland, during an internal preview of The Elder Scrolls 6. The CWA union organized the protest and spread red flags to represent the developers Microsoft laid off.
According to a WARN notice from last month, Microsoft laid off 166 developers from the Rockville office. The protest is part of the CWA's campaign against the Xbox layoffs, called 'Xbox Reset'.
Union says management banned signs
Nathan Hahn, a member of OneBGS-CWA, said the group learned of the Microsoft leadership's visit and decided to make visible the impact of the cuts. According to Hahn, management banned signs, so the union brought balloons and a team of former employees planted flags in the ground, one for each laid-off worker.
Hahn said the mobilization seeks to ensure fair treatment for Xbox developers and testers and to remind that layoffs like these cannot continue.
CEO praises The Elder Scrolls 6 without mentioning protest
Sharma did not publicly respond to the protest. On X, she wrote that she took part in a 'live playthrough' of The Elder Scrolls 6 and praised the game's scale and story. The official Bethesda Game Studios account replied thanking her for the visit.
Last month, Microsoft announced 3,200 layoffs, of which 1,600 are expected to occur by the end of 2026. The CWA plans new demonstrations for the end of this month.
Last week, a veteran id Software developer criticized Microsoft, saying the company 'doesn't understand art' and that the cuts make it impossible to produce games like Doom (2016). Xbox also remains on the BDS boycott list due to Microsoft's involvement with the Israeli army during the war in Gaza.
