In response to recent layoffs occurring at studios associated with Microsoft, unionized Bethesda employees have announced their plan to hold coordinated marches across four affected studios on July 15th. The demonstrations are a coordinated labor action rather than a spontaneous protest. These four marches are being collectively referred to as the “Save Our Devs” marches, and organized around several key demands: greater job security, transparency, and good-faith negotiations with management.

The timeline leading up to these marches goes all the way back to July 2024, when Bethesda formed the first wall-to-wall game development union, a type of union that represents every employee within a company regardless of position or type of work, under Microsoft’s ownership called OneBGS. It is this union that is responding to the Xbox restructuring that occurred earlier this month in the form of substantial layoffs. Of the approximate 1,600 immediate layoffs announced during the restructuring, roughly 440 union-represented positions at Bethesda and ZeniMax were reportedly affected, prompting the union to organize the demonstrations. The four Save Our Devs marches will happen simultaneously in four different Bethesda Game Studios locations in Rockville, Austin, Dallas, and Montreal, with an approximate starting time of 12:30 P.M. Eastern Time.

OneBGS has stated that the simultaneous marches are about more than just the layoffs, though it is an important concern. The demands of the union include better transparency, job security, meaningful negotiations, sustainable staffing, and long-term investment in developers. The restructuring layoffs were the straw that broke the camel’s back, but there is a lot of weight behind the planned protest. Workers are not demanding the reversal of every layoff, but rather taking the opportunity to voice all of their concerns about the current state of their employment. To use the words of a union member to summarize the purpose of the demonstrations, “We won’t quietly disappear.” Even the slogan, ‘Save Our Devs,’ emphasizes protecting the people who make games rather than the projects themselves, being reminiscent of past protest slogans like “Save Our Schools,” “Save Our NHS,” and “Save Our Libraries.”

These planned marches will serve as a test of Microsoft’s labor commitments. In the past, Microsoft has promoted their commitments to labor neutrality, union cooperation, and recognition of CWA unions, of which OneBGS is a member. The Save Our Devs marches will likely become an important test of Microsoft’s relationship with these commitments and their employees.