Doom dev Id is now "about the same size we were when making Doom 2016" after layoffs

It's been a tough week for Doom studio Id Software. The team that established the groundwork for basically all FPS games to come with classics including Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake was hit with devastating layoffs this week. With 3,200 job cuts announced by Xbox amid wider losses impacting 2.1% of Microsoft's global workforce, a Texas WARN notice put the impact on Id at 136 people. That's reportedly more than half the team, but a new message shared by the developer reassures that it's still big enough to continue.

"Thank you for all the support this week," the Id Software social media account writes. "While our studio was impacted, those changes were spread across teams. We still have the crew we need to build the games and tech we're known for." Id's legacy goes far beyond what we actually play, of course: its proprietary Id Tech engines are among the slickest around, and have been used by studios including MachineGames and Tango Gameworks.

Indeed, Valve's 'GoldSrc' engine, developed for Half-Life, was a heavily modified form of the original Quake engine, built by Id Co-founder John Carmack (who shared his own thoughts on the layoffs this week). In a way, you could even look at the legacy of Id as an essential step to the Steam-centric world of modern PC gaming. That backend work has continued through into Id's most recent release, Doom: The Dark Ages, and while it was its most demanding creation yet, the team continues to set a high standard for optimization, delivering some of the smoothest-running games on PC.

There have naturally been concerns about how many people were left at Id, and this new post aims to settle some of that uncertainty. In fact, it says that its current team is "about the same size" as it was when building the 2016 Doom reboot (still my personal favorite of its catalog). "We have always had a flat studio where everyone is a maker," it continues, "and we will remain true to that philosophy moving forward.

"We are focused on supporting each other and the team members impacted," the studio says in conclusion. "We're going to keep building the great games and tech that have defined us for the past 35 years, and we're looking forward to seeing you at QuakeCon this August." It's some measure of reassurance, although the message can't possibly take the sting off the huge swathe of job losses, or the toll the layoffs will take on those who remain.

I'm also not sure that diving straight back into Doom is the answer. One of the greatest assets Doom 2016 had in its corner was a hunger for its return, with more than a decade passed since Doom 3 (we'll leave the mobile-only Resurrection as its own beast). Could it be time for a proper, single-player Quake? Only time will tell, but I wish everyone involved the best.