id Software was hit particularly hard by the wave of Xbox reset layoffs that occurred last week. And while official statements from the studio claim that it is still sufficiently large to make the kinds of games it used to make, that opinion contradicts many of the laid-off developers.
It’s even at odds with some of the developers who still work there. id Software producer Andrew Willis, who was instrumental in the studio’s union organizing efforts in 2025, has made a series of posts on LinkedIn that are (understandably) still causing a stir, despite the studio’s official stance that all is not ruined.
“I think the only way to save the video game industry at this point is for developer-owned studios to begin recovering from these studio closures and layoffs,” writes Willis. “We must learn from the past, be fiscally responsible and create an environment for sustainable growth (although growth should be a by-product of success and not a goal in itself).”
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After all, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s announcement spoke of a “return to growth”. “We will return to growth in 2027,” said Sharma. Mind you, that was also in the same post that announced there would be another 1,600 layoffs by 2027, but hey. For most large companies, it’s a pretty standard slogan – something to keep shareholders happy.
Either way, Willis remains unfazed: “That’s the only way forward I see, and these big publishers and monopolies have proven to be terrible stewards and somehow even worse financial managers. If the people who create the value own that value, good things will follow.”
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In a follow-up post, Willis adds: “The games industry needs to change if it wants to create art and franchises that have long-term sustainable value – right now it feels like the monopolies that control it are simply trying to squeeze out as much goodwill and value (that took decades to build) as they can without caring about the diminishing returns that that brings.”
“This is what happens when the people who control it (most Ivy League MBAs) don’t play games, have never shipped a game, and fundamentally don’t understand the industry they run. In the current climate, there will never be another WoW or Morrowind.”
While I’m not entirely convinced that you have to play video games to be in charge of a company that makes them, I do think you have to be humble enough to delegate or listen to people Do-and humility is clearly rare in the executive suite.
I also agree with Willis’ assessment that you probably wouldn’t get a second World of Warcraft in this climate – I’ve talked about this before in our MMO column. But, and this might prove his point, I think we’re getting a lot of games that are at least on par with the classics from smaller independent studios.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Studios like Larian, which is shareholder-free (okay, Tencent has a non-controlling stake, but it’s Tencent. These people are everywhere), are a bit of an anomaly – Larian itself has survived bankruptcies in the past. The point is, trusting the man is damn hard work – while it’s worth doing, it’s no guarantee of anyone’s safety.
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/id-software-producer-says-youll-never-get-another-wow-or-morrowind-in-the-current-climate-in-the-wake-of-xbox-layoffs/
