Bethesda Montreal Devs Got Minimum Severance Notice the Day Xbox Revealed New Fallouts

On the same day Xbox announced a wave of major Fallout news, including Fallout 5 entering preproduction and remasters of Fallout 3 and New Vegas, laid-off developers at Bethesda Montreal were allegedly informed they would receive the smallest severance package legally possible and lose their health insurance benefits immediately. According to the OneBGS union, the timing made an already painful situation significantly worse, with workers describing the back-to-back news as deeply demoralizing. The union has called the treatment of these employees "unconscionable" and says it has filed new legal action in response to the dismissals.

Adding to the controversy, OneBGS claims that affected staff had previously been told they would retain their jobs until September, only to receive termination letters on the very day Xbox was celebrating its Fallout announcements. The sudden reversal of that timeline, combined with the minimal severance offer and immediate loss of benefits, has drawn sharp criticism from the union and broader industry observers. Bethesda Montreal had been home to developers working within the broader BGS (Bethesda Game Studios) umbrella, and the layoffs are part of a wider wave of cuts that have continued to ripple across Xbox and its subsidiaries.

Sources