Doom Developer id Software Slashed in Half Following Massive Xbox Layoffs
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Legendary Doom developer id Software has reportedly lost nearly half its staff in the latest wave of Xbox layoffs, raising serious questions about the future of the pioneering studio and its proprietary game engine. Original reporting via Polygon.
As the full scale of Xbox's recent 3,200-job reduction comes into focus, industry icon id Software is bearing a devastating blow. According to reports from Game Developer, multiple anonymous sources have confirmed that over 90 of the studio's roughly 200 employees were let go in the restructuring. Former Bethesda project lead Jeff Gardiner corroborated these numbers on social media, while industry veteran Scott Miller suggested that a staggering majority of the studio's core programming talent may have been cut. For a company that practically invented the first-person shooter genre and continues to build AAA hits on its own proprietary tech, losing this much institutional knowledge feels like a profound cultural and technical loss for the industry.
The timing and logic behind the cuts are raising eyebrows across the community, especially given id Software's recent output. The studio just delivered Doom: The Dark Ages, which pulled in 3 million players in its first week and marked the biggest launch in the developer's history, aided by a day-one Game Pass release. Internal communications leaked to IGN suggest that Bethesda leadership is shifting toward a consolidated roadmap centered on its strongest franchises. Yet gutting the very engineering powerhouse behind the id Tech engine leaves the studio's future identity murky, with speculation pointing toward a shift into a support role for other Bethesda properties rather than leading future creative efforts.
Industry figures, including id co-founder John Romero, have spoken out to honor the departing talent and acknowledge the heavy burden of carrying historic franchises in today's landscape. For players invested in single-player milestones and technical innovation, this news stings. When acquisitions and corporate restructuring hit legendary developers this hard, it forces the entire gaming community to re-evaluate the stability of our favorite studios and the corporate priorities shaping the games we play every day.
Tags: id Software, Xbox, Layoffs, Doom, Industry News
Original article: Polygon