Earlier this week, microsoft initiated a large wave of 4,800 layoffs that affected the company xbox and the gaming divisions particularly tough, with four studio divestments and 3,200 cuts (1,600 immediate and 1,600 more in the next 12 months) impacting what has been called a “reset” for the Xbox business.
While the layoffs have affected teams across Xbox, they have affected certain game studios like ZeniMax and Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment quite disproportionately. Another developer that has seen a sharp downsizing is id Software, the team that creates and oversees the modern CONDEMN games.
Initially, It was reported that half of the entire studio was fired. as part of the restructuring of Microsoft and Xbox – a major and devastating loss of talent that shocked the community and annoying developers at idgiven the popularity of its games and the potential of the ever-evolving id Tech game engine.
However, according to a new report, the total number of layoffs at the Texas-based promoter is even higher. Initially, it was believed that 96 roles in id were eliminated. Now, however, game developer writes that a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) notice, obtained through the Texas Workforce Commission upon request, has revealed that 40 remote workers in the studio have also been laid off.
This brings the total number of id Software cuts to 136, meaning the studio’s workforce has been affected much more than early reports indicated. Notably, the WARN document also confirmed that 22 employees were affected in Bethesda Game Studios‘ office in Austin, Texas, with 158 Texas employees laid off across both teams.
Reportedly, 146 of these workers are represented by the Communication Workers of America union; Bethesda Game Studios also has its own union and has expressed frustration over this week’s layoffs.
As worrying as the news of the loss of half of the ID was, hearing that 40 more workers were fired in addition to that It is extremely worrying. I can’t help but fear for the future of the studio and that it no longer has enough staff for the efficient development of new DOOM games and other projects in the future.
The painful irony of the situation is that these cuts came at the same time that id released its new Revelations DLC for its latest game, 2025. DOOM: The Middle Ages. So far, the new expansion has gotten good reviews and I’m glad to see it… but it’s also heartbreaking to see that many of the creative minds responsible for it, The Dark Ages, and other modern DOOM titles are gone.
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