One of the studios to be hit the harshest in the ongoing massive restructuring process in Xbox which has also seen a total of 268 number of employees being let go from the brand in this week, is id Software, one of the most iconic names in the first person shooter genre with groundbreaking franchises such as Doom and Quake. The current ‘Reset’ process in Xbox has already resulted in a total of 136 out of 185 employees being laid off from the studio and also amounted to the loss of over 70% of id Software’s overall workforce, leading to even legitimate concerns whether the studio is currently capable of developing another full-scale AAA title right now.
And based on a recent interview with Aftermath, it seems the current scene in Xbox is actually a lot more chaotic and unstable than what Microsoft wants us to know. According to a current id Software employee, communication across different studios in Xbox hasn’t been very effective recently, which makes him think they don’t really have a “clear vision” for the future:
“While there has been an attempt to communicate to the studios, it is still entirely in bullshit corporate speak,” the employee told Aftermath. “I still don’t believe they have a clear vision for the future.
“The only concrete thing they have communicated is they want higher profits, and they want it now. Aggressive goals are being set that would have been unrealistic even before the layoffs. … To say the workers within Xbox have a dim view of the future is putting it mildly. We keep thinking morale can’t sink lower but the obvious incompetence of Xbox management somehow keeps driving it down worse.”
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.
Xbox is currently expected to continue with their rounds of layoffs, although that might fall short of the full 3200 employees that was stated back in summer this year.
