id Software Developer Says 2016-Style Doom Is Impossible After 50% Staff Cut
Updated
Updated · Eurogamer.net · Aug 10
id Software Developer Says 2016-Style Doom Is Impossible After 50% Staff Cut
3 articles · Updated · Eurogamer.net · Aug 10
Summary
Chris Hayes, id Software's lead services provider, said the studio can no longer make a triple-A game like 2016's Doom because layoffs left it with "half the people" and wiped out entire disciplines.
Hayes rejected management's message that id is still unchanged, saying "we're half the same id" and alleging studio heads were given Microsoft talking points to keep remaining developers from leaving.
On the same podcast, he challenged Microsoft's claim that id still has roughly Doom 2016-era staffing, saying the company says "close to" because the current headcount is lower than that game's credits suggest.
Hayes also questioned how Microsoft judges Bethesda-era sales in a Game Pass model, arguing decision-makers behind the cuts do not understand game development, art or the business.
The comments follow last month's Xbox reset, under which Microsoft said it would eliminate 3,200 jobs across its studios; an earlier report said id Software cut at least 136 roles.
With entire departments gutted, can Microsoft actually deliver its secret John Wick-style project and next Doom without the legendary id Tech team?
Fired immediately after shipping a major update, will id Software's new union successfully fight back against Xbox's brutal video-call terminations?
Are corporate executives sacrificing the gaming industry's top talent for short-term stock bumps while falsely claiming studios remain perfectly healthy?