id SoftwareThe studio responsible for many beloved Xbox franchises DOOM, WolfensteinSaw Quake and more a large part of its employees were laid off by Microsoft as part of the company The restructuring of the Xbox brand resulted in the loss of more than 3,200 jobs.
Following this announcement, John Carmack, co-founder of id Software (along with John Romero, Tom Hall, and Adrian Carmack), also helped create DOOM. Wolfensteinand the Quake franchise responded on social media with their thoughts on the situation.
I was trying to find something meaningful to say about the Id Software cuts. My statement “Microsoft will probably be a good steward of the brand” doesn’t age well, and it’s sure to dampen spirits at the founders’ reunion at QuakeCon next month. I…July 9, 2026
Most of the responses to the massive Xbox layoff are as full of anger and frustration as ever id Software animator Skai Chow’s poignant message, “I hope our pain was worth it.” or as fear of the future Bethesda is afraid that it will happen It negatively affects the development of The Elder Scrolls 6even Write an ending for Fallout 76 without the help of an outside studio.
However, John Carmack’s answer seems more neutral in comparison. While he was certainly saddened (while admitting that his comment about Microsoft being a good steward of the brand hasn’t aged well), he couldn’t bring himself to be angry or disappointed by the layoffs: “I’m sad, but I can’t face anger or rage about it. I don’t have access to the books, but I suspect Id Software is a marginal business from Microsoft’s point of view. I believe the reports that Minecraft revenues are carrying several other studios.”
John Carmack went on to state that at the end of the day, the gaming industry is a cutthroat business with tons of competitors vying for your time and money, and if you’re not financially successful, you’ll be left behind no matter how well-loved your creations are.
Also, while it’s easy to point the blame at Microsoft’s top brass, John Carmack says, “You can’t rule out the possibility that executives are stupid, but that shouldn’t be your default belief. I don’t think there’s an obvious way to double the revenue from Id games.”
He asks what strategies id Software can do to avoid this, such as using a different pricing strategy, creating more things for fans to buy, or using a profitable marketing scheme to reach more players.
In the end, he doesn’t have an answer to this puzzle, but John Carmack knows it’s not over yet, and he hopes the id Program will bounce back from this heavy blow.
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While I don’t personally know the answer to this question, my colleague Jez Corden says that Rumors of id Software’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Although job cuts are brutal enough to put the kibosh Id Software’s suggestions for the perfect Dark reboot and John Wick-style gameMicrosoft has not announced plans to shut down the id Program anytime soon.
In fact, Microsoft even told us about id Software’s rumored job cuts leaving behind its vaunted id Tech (an engine that greatly optimizes the performance of games like the modern DOOM games and others). Indiana Jones and the Great Circle) on ice, says “There are dozens of people working on id Tech in several places. The reports that there is only one person left in Texas are not true.”
Either way, I hope id Software survives this turbulent time in gaming. They’ve made some of the most awesome first-person shooters I’ve ever played, like DOOM (2016) and DOOM: Eternal, and it would be an absolute shame to see the studio shut down forever.
Stay tuned for more news as we monitor further developments on the damages Xboxcompany-wide “Reset”.
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