id Software has disputed reports that it was significantly reduced by layoffs linked to Xbox’s restructuring of Microsoft’s gaming division, confirming the studio's size remains comparable to when it developed Doom 2016.
Layoffs attributed to Xbox’s reset involved cuts of nearly three-quarters of id Software’s original staff of 185, with some reports claiming the workforce shrank to about 49 employees. Concerns arose that the studio risked being "nerfed into the ground" and moved to a support role rather than developing full-scale games [1, 2, 3, 4].
Hugo Martin, creative and studio director, publicly rejected these reports during a Bethesda livestream for the Doom: The Dark Ages expansion "Revelations," indicating id Software currently employs roughly 75 people—the same approximate team size that developed Doom 2016. Martin said, "There’s been reports that we’ve been ‘nerfed into the ground’ and ‘gutted’ … that’s not true. We’re the size we were when we made Doom 2016, and id Tech is very much alive and well" [1, 2, 3, 4].
He added that id Tech engine development continues robustly across multiple locations, including Frankfurt and MachineGames, and collaboration remains strong. "You have to understand we have id Tech engineers both in Frankfurt and at MachineGames. We collaborate quite a bit," Martin said [2].
The recent Doom: The Dark Ages expansion "Revelations," released last week, has performed well commercially relative to forecasts. Martin noted, "Look, the fact that we made a game that people like and is critical and commercially successful … that’s good for everyone, for the people at the studio, for the people who unfortunately we had to say goodbye to" [1, 3, 4].
However, reports indicate the Frankfurt office was cut by half, from 12 employees down to 6, reflecting ongoing streamlining post-layoffs [4]. The cumulative Xbox gaming division cuts total 3,200 positions for the financial year, with 1,600 already completed and 1,600 more expected, impacting several studios [2].
Id Software social media accounts and executives have maintained they have sufficient staff to build games. Community lead Joshua Boyle thanked Doom fans for supporting the studio and those affected by layoffs, saying, "Thank you to Doom fans for both getting behind Id's efforts to get the Revelations DLC out and offering overwhelming support of everyone that was affected in the layoffs" [1, 2, 3, 4].
The tensions remain over the exact post-layoff staff count. Some reports claim only 49 remain, while studio leadership insists the workforce is closer to 75, similar to the 2016 team size [s1 vs s2,s3,s4].
Id Software is expected to share further details about upcoming projects when appropriate and approved, following continued development efforts across its teams [2].
