id Software's massive layoffs have turned the iconic FPS developers into effectively a support studio, according to a developer affected by the job cuts.
Despite the word that Xbox is apparently pushing Bethesda to work on tentpole franchises like Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein – as well as to get the likes of The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 out sooner, which has apparently resulted in Obsidian canceling an Avowed sequel to work on a Fallout game – Microsoft has decided to absolutely decimate Doom and Quake developer id Software. Word is that the studio has seen 136 of its 185 developers laid off by Microsoft, with word that the id Tech engine team is now a single employee.
Derek Best, former principal VFX artist at id Software – who worked at the company from 2014 until he was laid off this week – posted on LinkedIn (via VGC) about the layoffs.
"A little over 12 years ended unceremoniously the day before the DLC launch we all crunched to get out the door." He continues, "I'm still in shock at how brutal the layoff cuts were," saying that "Collectively decades of knowledge was wiped out of the studio."
Best notes that among the 136 employees affected. "The VFX team was eliminated down to one single artist with no lead or producer."
Best adds, "Great job Microsoft. Nothing says business success like nuking a team into the dirt and relegating them to support studio size while also throwing out massive technological achievements."
It's hard to stress how much the id Tech engine was integral to almost every Quake game as well as the modern Doom games.
Not to mention the IW Engine and Treyarch NGL engines used for Call of Duty titles are based on idTech 3 after it was used for the first Call of Duty game. And most recently, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle proved how good it is for other genres, with the adventure game looking gorgeous and running smoothly. And I can't expect whatever Xbox has planned for Doom or Quake in Unreal Engine to feel quite as right.
Still, it's not about Doom or Quake feeling right at the end of the day. It's about 136 jobs being lost and one of the most important studios in the history of gaming being hollowed out by its owner, and the decades of technical knowledge leaving the studio with those employees.
