Doom co-creator and id Software co-founder John Romero has confirmed that his canceled project is back in development, albeit as a new game taking on elements of the original idea.
Microsoft's sweeping layoffs had a massive impact earlier this year with the cancellations of Xbox projects like Rare's Everwild, the Perfect Dark reboot, and Zenimax Online Studios' unannounced MMO. But it wasn't just first-party projects in trouble, as Romero Games announced it had lost funding on an "all-new FPS with an original, new IP" in what former staff claimed was a Microsoft decision.
Romero previously said that even if the project wasn't revived, the studio would still have assets to use on another project, and from the sounds of things, that's where the saga has taken them.
At Salón del Videojuego de Madrid (spotted by Eurogamer), Romero confirms that the studio "survived the cancellation of a huge game." However, the new project is not going to be the same game that was canceled. Romero describes it as a game that has "been basically completely redesigned" and has "nothing" to do with the previous project. That being said, he does confirm it "incorporates a lot of the elements" from the original game.
"We have 50 million worth of game we can take pieces out of and put into a brand new indie game. We have a lot of stuff we can put in the game," Romero explains, adding, "The team is very excited about the new design." While the game is now "much smaller," Romero hypes up its originality, saying he's "never played a game like it." He describes it as something that "will be new to people, the way that going through Elden Ring was a really new experience [for Soulslike players]."
