Obsidian California Layoffs 2026: What Employees Should Know

What the filing says

These are the details as Obsidianreported them to the state. The EDD publishes every notice, and these figures come from the state's report as retrieved on Aug 13, 2026.

How much notice the law requires

California's WARN Act requires 60 days of advance written notice before a covered mass layoff, and its only statutory exception is a physical calamity or an act of war — far narrower than federal law's three. Who is covered and how the thresholds are counted is in our California WARN Act guide.

Obsidian severance: what to check before you sign

A severance offer is not the notice pay the WARN Act describes. Severance you were already promised — in a contract, a handbook, or a union agreement — cannot be used to satisfy that obligation, though Labor Code section 1402 does let an employer reduce a back-pay award by voluntary payments it was never required to make. A release may also give up more than you expect. Justin reviews severance agreements before workers sign. What to check before you decide is in our full guide to the California WARN Act.

Two things worth doing this week either way. File for unemployment now — WARN money does not reduce it, and the filings here run through Sep 4, 2026, so you do not have to wait for your last day. And keep every document, including the notice itself and anything showing when it arrived.

What your notice was required to include

Timing is only half of what Labor Code section 1401 asks for. The notice itself has to contain specific things, and California added most of this list for notices issued on or after January 1, 2026. This notice falls after that date. If you kept your copy, read it against the full six-item checklist in our WARN Act guide — everything federal law requires, whether transition help is being coordinated, working contact details for your workforce board and for the employer itself, and CalFresh information.

Source: Labor Code section 1401, as amended by SB 617, effective January 1, 2026. A notice missing something from that list is not automatically a violation with a remedy attached — whether a gap matters depends on the employer, the action, and what else happened.

Questions people are asking

Where a layoff can raise a legal question

A layoff is lawful on its own, and nothing below is a statement about Obsidian. These are the places California law can still come into play, depending on the facts of your own situation.

• The severance you were asked to signA release can give up claims you did not know you had, and the terms are sometimes negotiable.
• How you were selectedA reduction in force still cannot be used to cut someone for a protected reason such as age, disability, pregnancy, or a complaint they made.
• Your final paycheckCalifornia sets when final wages are due at termination, and unpaid time or accrued vacation can carry penalties on top of the wages.

General information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

What has been reported

Press coverage of this layoff, summarized and attributed. This is reporting rather than the filing itself, and we did not independently verify it.

The cuts are at Obsidian's Irvine studio on Spectrum Center Drive. Reporting describes the studio cancelling a planned sequel to Avowed and beginning work on a new Fallout title.

Coverage places the reduction at roughly a quarter of the studio's staff.

Sources: Gematsu (opens in a new tab)

What the numbers show

• The 52 affected positions are in Irvine.
• The shortest gap between notice and last day here is 60 days, close to the statewide median of 61 days across every notice on file.
• The EDD records the employer's sector as Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation.
• The 52 workers leaving Obsidian re-enter a job market where Orange County unemployment stood at 4.1% in June 2026, below the 5.2% statewide rate (Bureau of Labor Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

These are counts and comparisons drawn from the published filings, not findings about Obsidian.

Other layoffs filed in Orange County around the same time

64 employers have WARN notices on file in Orange County, covering 7,189 workers. These filed within about a quarter of this one.

• Wind & Sea Restaurant198 workers
• Sodexo164 workers
• Sentinel Restaurant & Hospitality Group LLC113 workers
• Yard House78 workers
• Frick Paper Company78 workers
• Tencent America LLC68 workers

Listed because they appear in the same county in the same public data. No connection between these employers is implied.

Other Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation layoffs in California

Employers the EDD lists in the same sector with WARN notices on file statewide.

• NBCUniversal287 workers
• Pixar108 workers

Grouped by the industry the EDD recorded on the filings. No connection between these employers is implied.