id Software creative director Hugo Martin has commented on the Xbox layoffs that have affected the legendary Doom developer, insisting it’s still alive and kicking.
A WARN notice filed in Texas last week and reported by Game Developer confirmed that 96 workers had been laid off in Richardson, Texas, home of id Software, with a further 40 remote roles cut. The cuts, estimated to have affected half the id Software staff, were part of new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s “reset” of Microsoft’s gaming business, which began with 1,600 staff losing their jobs. Another 1,600 will be let go during the rest of the current financial year. Four Xbox studios are already out the door, with another hot on their heels.
Last week, id Software issued a statement responding to the layoffs, saying it was now at the staffing level it had back when it made the much-loved 2016 Doom reboot. It also insisted it was still capable of making “great games,” and pushed back on the suggestion that there’s essentially no-one left at the company working on id Tech, the game engine it and fellow Bethesda-owned studio MachineGames uses to build their games. Xbox confirmed to IGN that “there are dozens of people working on id Tech across multiple locations,” and that previous reports that there was only one person left in Texas are “inaccurate.”
First reported by Kotaku, during a livestream playthrough of Doom: The Dark Ages DLC, Revelations, Martin addressed the layoffs, pushing back against reports of the studio’s demise and promising to announce what it’s working on next in due time.
“There’s been reports that we’ve been ‘nerfed into the ground’ and ‘gutted’ and we have 50 people, and that’s not true,” Martin said. “We’re the size we were when we made Doom 2016, and id Tech is very much alive and well. You have to understand, we have id Tech engineers both in Frankfurt and at MachineGames. We collaborate quite a bit. The id Tech is there, the Doom team is here, and we’re excited to share with you guys more of what we’re working on in the future when it is appropriate and approved.”
Martin then suggested Doom: The Dark Ages, the prequel to 2016’s Doom and 2020’s Doom Eternal, was meeting commercial expectations.
“Look, the fact that we made a game that people like and is critical and commercially successful — like I said, it’s doing very well related to the forecast and stuff — that’s good for everyone, for the people at the studio, for the people who unfortunately we had to say goodbye to. I think that helps everyone and we really appreciate your support,” he said.
“But what matters the most is that the games are good, and I’m so happy that people, I don’t know… It’s just a good thing for everybody, and I know it’s going to help.”
Martin’s comments come as laid off staff protest outside Bethesda offices, including id Software’s. According to Kera News, dozens of workers attended a “Save our Devs” rally outside id Software’s Richardson office building on Wednesday, as part of an event organized in several cities across the country and Canada by workers represented by the Communications Workers of America union. The CWA is currently negotiating an exit agreement with Microsoft.
id Software co-founders John Romero and John Carmack have both issued statements on the layoffs at the studio. John Romero took to social media to offer affected id Software staff his support, and to call on the studio’s recent legacy to be preserved. “Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today’s industry,” he said. “The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people.”
Carmack, however, expressed sadness but not “anger or outrage,” questioning whether id Software’s games had sold well enough to prevent the layoffs.
So, what will id Software make next? According to GamesBeat, id Software was formulating new game ideas, such as a John Wick-style original IP, a new Perfect Dark game, and a multiplayer / co-op Doom game before the layoffs hit. The Verge’s Tom Warren has said id Software is now working on a new Doom game.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
