id Software, one of the most iconic names in the first person shooter genre with groundbreaking titles such as Doom and Quake, has received some of the heaviest losses in the ongoing ‘Reset’ process from Xbox, resulting in a total of 136 out of 185 employees being let go from the studio which has also amounted to the loss of over 70% of id Software’s overall workforce. The drastic reduction in employee numbers have also led to concerns that the legendary developer might not be able to make any new titles in it’s current capacity but the studio itself has just released an official statement emphasizing that they are still well staffed for creating new games.
“While our studio was impacted, those changes were spread across teams,” they said. “We still have the crew we need to build the games and tech we’re known for. The team today is about the same size we were when making DOOM (2016). We have always had a flat studio where everyone is a maker, and we will remain true to that philosophy moving forward.”
“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.”
Also, another rumor had surfaced that with most of id Software’s devs gone, Microsoft may shift the studio to use Unreal Engine instead of the older but still perfectly capable id Tech engine and according to Windows Central, those concerns aren’t true as well.
“There are dozens of people working on id Tech across multiple locations. Reports that there’s only one person left in Texas are inaccurate.”
This means the id Tech engine is fully alive and well, and would be used in future projects from the studio so no worries there.
It has been known that prior to the layoffs, id software was reportedly toying with ideas for several projects which included a John Wick-inspired title, a new Perfect Dark game and more.
