id Software has issued a statement following layoffs at Xbox that resulted in about half of the legendary first-person shooter studio’s employees losing their jobs.
On Wednesday, a Game Developer WARN notice filed in Texas confirmed that 96 employees in Richardson, Texas, where id Software is based, were laid off and another 40 remote roles were eliminated. The cuts were part of new Xbox boss Asha Sharma’s “reboot” of Microsoft’s gaming business, which began with 1,600 employees losing their jobs on Monday. Another 1,600 will be laid off during the current financial year. Four Xbox studios are already on the doorstep, with another one hot on their heels.
Some have expressed concerns that id Software would be unable to lead new game development in its current state and that the company could be demoted to support studio status. But in a new statement to IGN, id Software said that the company is now at the same level of staff it had in 2016’s popular Doom reboot – and stressed that it is still capable of making “great games.”
Here is the full statement, posted on id Software’s X/Twitter page:
Thank you everyone for your support this week.
Although our studio was impacted, these changes were distributed across all teams. We still have the crew we need to create the games and technology we are known for. The team is about the same size today as it was at Doom 2016. We’ve always had a flat studio where everyone is a doer, and we’ll stay true to that philosophy going forward.
We are focused on supporting each other and the affected team members. We will continue to create the great games and technology that have defined us over the last 35 years, and we look forward to seeing you at QuakeCon this August.
id and Xbox also push back on claims that virtually no one at the company is working on id Tech anymore, the game engine that the company and Bethesda-owned studio MachineGames use to create their games (MachineGames is reportedly working on Wolfenstein 3). Xbox confirmed to IGN that there are “dozens of people working on id Tech in multiple locations” and that previous reports that there was only one person left in Texas were “inaccurate.”
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While id Software does not currently have an announced project, IGN understands that the studio is prototyping a number of potential projects and believes it will still be able to develop its own games. According to GamesBeat, id was working on new game ideas, such as an original John Wick-style IP, a new Perfect Dark game, and a multiplayer/co-op Doom game, before the layoffs occurred.
However, the Bethesda studios will work more closely together from now on, and in general Xbox’s focus will be on larger franchises such as Halo, Minecraft, Candy Crush, Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. As IGN revealed, Bethesda CEO Jill Braff said in an email to Bethesda employees sent following Sharma’s memo on Monday that the layoffs and change in strategy “reflect the realities of our industry and business – and our responsibility to ensure Bethesda operates on a more stable foundation.”
“In order to be successful in the future, we have to change course,” Braff continued. “We need to strengthen our business, return to sustainable growth and ensure we can continue to invest in our franchises and our players. I know that doesn’t make a day like this any easier.”
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But what does this actually mean, aside from layoffs at companies like id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios and elsewhere at Bethesda? 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.
id Software co-founders John Romero and John Carmack have both issued statements regarding the layoffs at the studio. John Romero took to social media to offer his support to affected id Software employees and call for preserving the studio’s recent legacy. “Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein are not easy names, especially in today’s industry,” he said. “The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what these worlds mean to people.”
Carmack, however, expressed sadness but not “anger or outrage” and questioned whether id Software’s games had sold well enough to prevent the layoffs.
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/id-software-issues-statement-following-xbox-layoffs-says-its-back-to-the-size-it-was-when-it-made-2016s-doom
