id Software Legacy in Jeopardy Amid Xbox Layoffs

As part of the recent Xbox restructuring, id Software has been heavily impacted, with 95 staff members let go, including principal character artist Denzil O’Neill, who worked on Doom: The Dark Ages, Doom Eternal, and Doom over the course of 12 years at the studio.

Source: assets-prd.ignimgs.com

Co-founder of id Software and the designer of Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Quake, John Romero, took to social media to offer affected staff his support, and to call on the studio’s recent legacy to be preserved.

John Romero’s Statement

‘I’m so sorry for everyone at id Software affected by these layoffs,’ Romero tweeted.

‘I know what it feels like to leave id while id goes on. It’s a strange and painful thing to step away from a place that holds so much of your work, friendships, and history.’

‘The people at id have done a great job moving that legacy forward. DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today’s industry. The last few games showed real care, skill, and respect for what those worlds mean to people.’

Romero also expressed concern about the preservation of id Software’s history, stating, ‘id’s history is critically important to the history of games. I’ve preserved id’s complete early history from our start at Softdisk through to August 6, 1996, including materials and assets that, as far as I know, id itself no longer has. I hope someone is doing the same for the company’s ongoing legacy (the work, code, assets, stories, and the people behind them).’

‘I’m thinking of everyone at id today, and everyone else affected by yesterday’s layoffs,’ Romero concluded.

Future of id Software Uncertain

While MachineGames has survived the cull, with a new Wolfenstein game pretty much an open secret at this point, the future of id Software remains unclear.

Could what remains of id Software be put to work supporting the development of the new Wolfenstein game, or perhaps helping another studio make a new Fallout game?

Sharma has made it clear that Xbox wants to double down on its biggest franchises, and Bethesda boss Jill Braff has told staff much the same, stating, ‘to best position Bethesda for future growth, we are shifting from a planning model primarily centered on what’s next for each independent studio to one that focuses on our strongest franchises and determining the content roadmap that best serves our players and Bethesda as a whole.’

Braff added, ‘From there, we’ll align the right talent, technology, and resources across the organization to deliver on those priorities.’

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier has said that Bethesda will continue to work on Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake alongside The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

The future of id Software and its legacy hangs in the balance, leaving fans and the gaming community wondering what’s next for this iconic studio.