Earlier this week, Microsoft initiated a major wave of 4,800 layoffs that hit the company’s Xbox and gaming divisions particularly hard. Four studio sales and 3,200 cuts – 1,600 immediately and 1,600 more over the next 12 months – led to a so-called “reboot” for the Xbox business.
Although the layoffs affected teams across Xbox, certain game studios like ZeniMax and Bethesda, as well as Obsidian Entertainment, were hit fairly disproportionately. Another developer that has seen a sharp decline in staff is id Software, the team that develops and maintains the modern DOOM games.
It was originally reported that half of the entire studio was laid off as part of Microsoft and Xbox’s restructuring – a major and devastating loss of talent that shocked the community and angered developers at id given the popularity of its games and the potential of the ever-evolving id Tech game engine.
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But the total number of layoffs at the Texas-based developer is even larger, according to a new report. Initially it was assumed that 96 positions would be cut at id. However, Game Developer now writes that a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications – which the company received upon request from the Texas Workforce Commission – shows that 40 remote employees at the studio were also laid off.
Microsoft’s mass Xbox layoffs hit id Software just a day before the release of the new Revelations DLC for DOOM: The Dark Ages. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
This brings the total number of cuts at id Software to 136, meaning the studio’s workforce is significantly more affected than initial reports suggested. Notably, the WARN document also confirmed that 22 employees at Bethesda Game Studios’ Austin, Texas office were affected and 158 Texas employees across both teams were laid off.
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Of those workers, 146 are reportedly represented by the Communication Workers of America union; Bethesda Game Studios also has its own union and has clearly expressed its frustration with this week’s layoffs.
How worrying was the news of the loss of half of id when it was heard that another 40 workers had also been laid off The is extremely worrying. I can’t help but worry about the studio’s future and the fact that it no longer has enough employees to efficiently develop new DOOM games and other future projects.
The painful irony of the situation is that these cuts came at the same time as id released its new Revelations DLC for its latest game, 2025’s DOOM: The Dark Ages. So far the new expansion has received strong reviews and I’m excited to see it… but it’s also heartbreaking to see that many of the creative minds responsible for it, The Dark Ages and other modern DOOM titles are now gone.
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https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/the-layoffs-at-xboxs-doom-studio-id-software-are-even-worse-than-we-thought
