A sad bit of history has occurred at Bethesda due to Xbox's latest round of cuts. An artist who'd worked at the studio for almost two decades, and was the last on his team who contributed to Skyrim and was still at the studio, has been laid off "after almost 18 years of dedication to The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield."
As per a personal LinkedIn post, Ray Lederer started at Bethesda during the development of Skyrim, where he contributed "concept art, visual design, and gameplay ideas" according to a alongside the late Adam Adamowicz, who passed away in 2012. After that, he transitioned over to Fallout 4, after which he got to work on Fallout 76 and eventually Starfield, before transitioning back to Tamriel for The Elder Scrolls 6.
"I've lived many lives here, made many lifelong friends, been through incredible highs of success and some devastating lows of tragedy and loss," he writes. "I will never forget the strength and dedication of our teams to bring these worlds to life in so many ways for so many people. I will truly miss working with the incredible talent and what was the unique charm of BGS."
Besides being in the trenches for Skyrim – an historic game whose legacy still burns brightly 13 years on – he was part of the initial visual concepts for Starfield. Lederer holds a remarkable amount of institutional knowledge, for a legendary studio with whom he seemed dedicated to.
Careers like his aren't all that common in video games, as many move between studios for a variety of reasons. 18 years is a serious run, and it's a damn shame that he isn't able to part ways with a company he knows so well on his terms.
"It has been my honor and the highlight of my career to be part of something that means so much to our fans, pop culture, and to us, as creators," he adds, mentioning that he's now open to pastures new.
Sadly, Bethesda's among several studios which have suffered losses like this as Microsoft swings the axe of restructuring around its games wing. Doom studio id Software's reportedly now the size of a support studio, according to a now-former artist, and Obsidian's now apparently working on the next Fallout after having several projects cancelled.
Times are harsh over at Xbox. With any luck, Lederer and his peers will find their next opportunities in short order.
