A Giant Rat, 166 Red Flags, and an Elder Scrolls VI Preview: Union Meets Xbox CEO at Bethesda
When Xbox CEO Asha Sharma arrived at Bethesda's offices in Rockville, Maryland for an early look at The Elder Scrolls VI, the Communications Workers of America union had something waiting for her outside: a giant inflatable rat named Scabby.
The rat — a longtime symbol American unions deploy outside workplaces they say are treating staff poorly — stood alongside a wall of small red flags planted in the ground. Each flag represented one of the 166 developers laid off from the Rockville office, according to a WARN notice (a legally required US layoff disclosure) cited in Eurogamer's reporting.
The protest was organised by OneBGS-CWA, the Bethesda Game Studios chapter of the Communications Workers of America, the union representing workers at the studio. Member Nathan Hahn said Microsoft leadership was visiting the office that week, and the union wanted its presence to be visible so that the impact of the layoffs on developers could not be ignored.
Sharma made no official comment about the rat. Instead, she took to X to share a post about her playthrough of The Elder Scrolls VI. The official Bethesda Game Studios account replied publicly, acknowledging her visit and the preview. Aftermath first reported the details of the inflatable rat, named "Scabby," and the union's demonstration.
The CWA has framed the Bethesda action as part of its broader campaign against what it calls the "Xbox Reset" — Microsoft's ongoing restructuring of its gaming division. Xbox announced 3,200 layoffs in July 2026, with 1,600 of those scheduled to take effect through the remainder of the year, according to Eurogamer.
The Rockville demonstration is not an isolated event. On 15 July 2026, hundreds of employees gathered at a "Save our Devs" national protest in Rockville, also targeting Microsoft layoffs at ZeniMax — the parent company of Bethesda, WUSA9 reported.
The Elder Scrolls VI was announced in 2018 and remains without a release date. It is one of the most anticipated titles in the industry, and any internal preview — let alone one attended by the CEO of Xbox — draws attention. That Sharma chose to highlight the visit publicly, posting about a game still years from launch while union members stood outside with flags for departed colleagues, gave the moment a tension that neither side needed to name.
For players, The Elder Scrolls VI inches forward. For the people who would build it, 166 of their colleagues are gone, and the union wants everyone who walks through Bethesda's doors to know it.
