John Carmack has weighed in on a topic that has already been covered in today’s news, and he may regret what he said about Microsoft in the past.

He responded to the massive layoffs at id Software, the studio he co-founded in 1991. Microsoft is reportedly cutting more than half of the DOOM studio’s workforce, or 136 jobs. The studio just released the DOOM: The Dark Ages expansion this week. While his comments imply that he disapproves of the layoffs, Carmack stops short of criticizing Microsoft’s decision. He cited a Bloomberg article stating that profits from Minecraft have been redirected to less successful Xbox studios over the past few years. Carmack then outlined a few hypothetical strategies that could have prevented the current situation, namely the dismantling of the team behind this generation’s most critically acclaimed shooters.

I have been trying to find something meaningful to say about the Id Software layoffs.

My “Microsoft will probably be a good steward of the brand” statement isn’t aging well, and this is certainly going to dampen the mood of the founder reunion at QuakeCon next month.

I’m…

– John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) July 9, 2026

“I have been trying to find something meaningful to say about the Id Software layoffs. My ‘Microsoft will probably be a good steward of the brand’ statement isn’t aging well, and this will certainly dampen the mood at the founder reunion during QuakeCon next month. I’m saddened by it, but I can’t muster any anger or outrage. I don’t have access to the financial records, but I suspect that Id Software was a marginal business for Microsoft. I believe the reports that Minecraft revenues have been propping up several other studios. In order to continue being produced long term, games need to be successful, not just beloved.

Games compete with every other way to spend your leisure time and money, and the competition is brutal. While you can’t rule out the possibility that executives are idiots, that shouldn’t be your default belief. I don’t think there’s an obvious way to double Id’s revenue. Could they have earned more with a different pricing strategy? Could they have created more things for fans to buy? Could they have marketed cost-effectively in a way that reached more players who would have loved and bought the games? Could they have changed the game designs to broaden their appeal without alienating existing players? Could they have produced the games faster or more cheaply? I really don’t know. The game isn’t over yet, and I hope the studio rallies through,” Carmack wrote.

In a statement released earlier this week, id Software co-founder John Romero expressed his sympathy for those who suddenly found themselves out of work—a situation he can relate to, as Xbox cut funding for his studio’s next game in 2025. He knows what it feels like to leave id Software while the company continues to operate. “It’s strange and painful to leave a place tied to so much work, friendship, and history,” he said. Romero Games was in exactly this situation a year ago. He knows how devastating this can be, and his heart goes out to those affected.

Source: PCGamer