John Romero has spoken out about the layoffs that have impacted Microsoft-owned id Software as part of sweeping cuts to its Xbox business.
Yesterday, Microsoft gaming boss Asha Sharma announced the “most significant” restructuring in Xbox history: 1,600 employees will be laid off immediately, with another 1,600 employees to follow during the current fiscal year. As part of the restructuring, four studios are leaving Xbox to new management and one is currently discussing its future.
ZeniMax Media, which operates Bethesda, was hit hard by the layoffs. ZeniMax Online Studios has had to make significant cuts, forcing The Elder Scrolls Online’s remaining developers to rethink future content. And id Software is also severely affected. According to Jeff Gardiner, former project manager at Bethesda Studios, the Doom developer has lost 95 employees. Among them is the main actor Denzil O’Neill, who worked at the studio for twelve years on “Doom The Dark Ages”, “Doom Eternal” and “Doom”. The Doom The Dark Ages expansion releases this week.
Romero, co-founder of id Software and designer of Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and Quake, took to social media to offer his support to affected employees and call for preserving the studio’s recent legacy.
“I am so sorry to everyone at id Software affected by these layoffs,” Romero tweeted.
“I know how it feels to leave the ID while the ID lives on. It’s strange and painful to leave a place where so much work, friendships and history are hidden.
“The people at id have done a great job advancing that legacy. DOOM, Quake and Wolfenstein are not easy names, especially in today’s industry. The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what these worlds mean to people.”
“A note on digital preservation: id’s history is crucial to the history of games. I have preserved all of id’s early history from our launch at Softdisk through August 6, 1996, including materials and assets that, to my knowledge, id itself no longer owns. I hope someone does the same for the company’s ongoing legacy (the work, the code, the assets, the stories and the people behind it).
“I’m thinking today of everyone at id and everyone else affected by yesterday’s layoffs. Romero Games was there a year ago. I know how devastating it is, and my heart goes out to all of you.”
This is a nod to the cancellation of Romero Games’ shooter last year after Microsoft reportedly cut off funding as part of layoffs in July 2025. (This was the round of layoffs that included the cancellation of Everwild from Rare and the reboot of The Initiative in Perfect Dark.) Romero Games was not shut down, and the Romeros assured fans that they were “evaluating options” from publishers who had been in contact since the funding issues were announced, but very little was known about the game other than it was a first-person shooter.
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Meanwhile, the future of id Software remains unclear. MachineGames has survived the cull, and a new Wolfenstein game is pretty much an open secret at this point. Could what’s left of id Software be used to support its development, or perhaps help another studio develop a new Fallout game?
Sharma has made it clear that Xbox wants to double down on its biggest franchises. Bethesda CEO Jill Braff told employees much the same thing. Without naming games, Braff said: “To optimally position Bethesda for future growth, we are moving from a planning model that focuses primarily on what’s next for each independent studio to one that focuses on our strongest franchises and determines the content roadmap that best serves our players and Bethesda as a whole.”
“From there, we will align the right talent, technology and resources across the company to meet these priorities,” Braff added. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said that Bethesda will continue to work on Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake in addition to The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
Photo by Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images for SDCCMalaga.
Wesley is Director of News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
https://www.ign.com/articles/my-hearts-with-all-of-you-john-romero-says-id-software-has-done-a-great-job-moving-the-studios-legacy-forward-and-hopes-someone-is-working-to-preserve-it-all-amid-xbox-layoffs
