One of the most severe waves of layoffs in Xbox history hit id Software hard, and the creators of DOOM remained silent for days while speculation grew around the studio’s future. The team has now responded, insisting that despite the scale of the losses, it still has the people required to develop its own games and technology. A new DOOM may already be taking shape, while several earlier concepts are unlikely to survive the restructuring.
It has been an exceptionally difficult week for id Software. The DOOM developer was heavily affected by Xbox’s sweeping restructuring, which is expected to eliminate a total of 3,200 positions before the end of fiscal year 2027. Former employees and subsequently published figures indicated that 136 people lost their jobs at the American studio, which reportedly employed around 185 workers before the cuts. Those numbers led many to fear that the legendary developer had lost the ability to operate independently and might continue only as a support team for other Microsoft projects.
id Software has now addressed that speculation in a statement published through its social channels. The studio thanked the community for the support it received throughout the week and acknowledged that the changes affected virtually every department. At the same time, it emphasized that the team required to create the games and technology associated with id’s legacy remains in place. “We still have the crew we need to build the tech and games we’re known for,” the studio said, adding that its current size is broadly comparable to the team that created DOOM in 2016.
Is a New DOOM Already in Development?
Before the layoffs, id Software had explored several concepts that never entered full production. Reports suggested that one possibility was a new DOOM centered on multiplayer and cooperative play, potentially serving as the franchise’s next major evolution. The studio had also considered an original IP known as Fury, blending the elaborate gun combat of the John Wick films with science-fiction and film noir influences. Set around criminal organizations in Louisiana and Chicago, the project would have been built around “Gun Fu,” combining firearms and close-quarters combat into a single uninterrupted fighting style.
The studio was also experimenting with a concept called Ironwood, described as a robot survival game set in a Westworld-inspired Western environment. Another proposal explored a new Perfect Dark, although that effort progressed only as far as a small collection of concept art while the team completed the expansion for DOOM: The Dark Ages. Current information suggests that all of these ideas have either been pushed aside or abandoned completely, with id Software once again concentrating on its most recognizable franchise.
According to The Verge journalist Tom Warren, the studio is already in the early stages of developing a new DOOM. No concrete details are available, meaning it remains unknown whether the project is a direct continuation, a major change in direction, or some form of spin-off. The report nevertheless fits Bethesda’s current strategy of prioritizing its most established properties, including DOOM, Quake, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls.
Microsoft has also denied reports claiming that the id Tech development team has effectively ceased to exist. A company spokesperson told Windows Central: “There are dozens of people working on id Tech across multiple locations. Reports that there’s only one person left in Texas are inaccurate.” More information about the technology and id Software’s future may emerge during QuakeCon in August, where the studio is expected to speak more directly about its plans.
The community’s concern was not unfounded. id Tech is not simply another graphics engine, but a technology that helped shape the evolution of the first-person shooter genre for decades. From the era of Quake onward, its importance has rested not only in the source code itself, but also in the accumulated knowledge of programmers who developed and optimized it across multiple generations. That expertise helped deliver the visual quality and exceptional performance seen in DOOM Eternal, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
When reports indicated that the layoffs had also struck the id Tech team particularly hard, many feared Microsoft would eventually move the studio’s projects to Unreal Engine. Losing experienced engine programmers would not only make future updates and development more difficult, but could also threaten the survival of one of the industry’s last major proprietary technologies. id Software’s statement currently suggests that the studio has been weakened, but not rendered incapable: it still intends to create its own games, development of id Tech is continuing, and if the reports are accurate, a new DOOM has already begun the long process toward release.
Source: 3DJuegos, Windows Central, The Verge
