The recent layoffs throughout Xbox have left id Software without many of its talented programming and engineering team members. Despite reports indicating that the studio has been gutted, id Software said in an official statement that it still has “the crew we need to build the games and tech we’re known for.”
However, according to Game Developer, a former id Software employee has said that the studio’s statement is “stretching reality to breaking point” with its statement. They went on to talk about how the “majority” of the team that worked on DOOM: The Dark Ages’ Revelations expansion had been laid off. Along with this, they noted that most of the people working on id Tech have also been let go.
“They’ve just gotten rid of all the people who could ever fix, maintain, or change [id Tech], so it’s most likely going to end up in the in the trash can. That’s where I just come back to: It completely feels like success is detached from your ability to keep a job, and I think that’s basically provable,” they said.
“[…] There were five members of the VFX team, including the lead [that were laid off]. Our technical art and design part department now only has its lead. That’s it. All other four of the members of the team were let go. The institutional knowledge [that has been lost] on the id Tech side is immense. […] I cannot imagine a path forward where they make another game in id Tech.”
The employee went on to say that layoffs had hit around 90 percent of the design team at id Software. The team was responsible for AI and gameplay in the studio’s titles. Among the casualties was also “employee number 13”, who had been with id Software since the studio’s early days with John Carmack and John Romero at the helm.
As for id Software’s statement, the company noted that its headcount is roughly the same size as it was during the development of DOOM (2016). “We have always had a flat studio where everyone is a maker, and we will remain true to that philosophy moving forward,” it said.
“We are focused on supporting each other and the team members impacted. We’re going to keep building the great games and tech that have defined us for the past 35 years, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at QuakeCon this August.”
Reports have indicated that, despite the extensive layoffs at id Software, Xbox plans to continue using the studio’s proprietary in-house game engine – id Tech. This likely comes down to the fact that studios like MachineGames have also been using various iterations of the engine; Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, for example, was built using a fork of id Tech 7, dubbed Motor.
Other reports have indicated that work on a new DOOM project has already begun at id Software despite its recent layoffs, with the title being in its early stages of development. However, the studio itself hasn’t yet made any official announcement about this.
