{"id":66874,"date":"2026-07-07T21:12:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T13:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=66874"},"modified":"2026-07-07T21:12:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T13:12:58","slug":"john-romero-comments-on-id-software-layoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=66874","title":{"rendered":"John Romero Comments on id Software Layoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"


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John Romero has commented on the layoffs that have impacted Microsoft-owned id Software as part of sweeping cuts to the Xbox business.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, Microsoft gaming boss Asha Sharma announced the most \u201csignificant\u201d restructure in Xbox history<\/u>, with 1,600 staff let go immediately, and another 1,600 staff to follow over the course of the current financial year. As part of the restructure, four studios are leaving Xbox to new management, and one is now in consultation over its future.<\/p>\n

ZeniMax Media, which operates Bethesda, was hit hard by the layoffs. ZeniMax Online Studios has suffered significant cuts, forcing the remaining developers of The Elder Scrolls Online to rethink future content. And id Software is also heavily affected. The developer of Doom has lost 95 staff, according to former Bethesda Studios project lead Jeff Gardiner. Among them is principal character artist Denzil O\u2019Neill, who worked on Doom The Dark Ages, Doom Eternal, and Doom over the course of 12 years at the studio. The Doom The Dark Ages expansion comes out this week.<\/p>\n

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Romero, co-founder of id Software and the designer of Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Quake, took to social media to offer affected staff his support, and to call on the studio\u2019s recent legacy to be preserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so sorry for everyone at id Software affected by these layoffs,\u201d Romero tweeted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what it feels like to leave id while id goes on. It\u2019s a strange and painful thing to step away from a place that holds so much of your work, friendships and history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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\u2019s industry. The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people.<\/p>\n

\u201cA note on digital preservation: id’s history is critically important to the history of games. I\u2019ve preserved id\u2019s 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\u2019s ongoing legacy (the work, code, assets, stories and the people behind them).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking of everyone at id today, and everyone else affected by yesterday\u2019s layoffs. Romero Games was there a year ago. I know how devastating it is, and my heart’s with all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a reference to last year\u2019s cancelation of Romero Games\u2019 shooter after Microsoft reportedly pulled funding as part of layoffs in July 2025. (This was the round of layoffs that included the cancelation of Rare\u2019s Everwild and The Initiative\u2019s Perfect Dark reboot.) Romero Games did not close, and the Romeros assured fans they were “evaluating opportunities” from publishers that had been in touch since the funding issues were announced, but very little was known about the game other than it was a first-person shooter.<\/p>\n