ID Software confirmed it will cut roughly 136 developers, effectively halving its workforce, as part of Microsoft's largest-ever Xbox restructuring dubbed the "reset." The studio remains open with its core team and id Tech engine preserved, though the loss of expertise casts uncertainty on ungreenlit projects as Microsoft focuses exclusively on staple franchises like DOOM and Quake.
ID Software Cuts Roughly Half Its Workforce Amid Xbox’s Largest-Ever Layoff Wave
The studio remains under Microsoft, but decades of expertise are gone, along with several ungreenlit projects.
ID Software has confirmed it will lose approximately 136 developers, effectively halving its team. The cuts hit Austin’s headquarters and remote workers alike, landing just a day before the DOOM: The Dark Ages "Revelations" DLC drops.
It’s the latest casualty in a wider Xbox restructuring Asha Sharma has branded a "reset." Microsoft is shedding roughly 3,200 Xbox and game development roles across two waves, alongside 4,800 corporate-wide cuts. This marks the single biggest layoff wave in Xbox history.
You’ve seen this rhythm before. Arkane Austin closed in 2024. Tango Gameworks followed. The Initiative shuttered last year. Now Compulsion, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine are off the roster. Flat hierarchies are fragile things. They rely on trust, not quarterly targets. Back to Austin. The studio was hours from wrapping up internal playtests for The Dark Ages expansion when the HR emails started hitting inboxes. One day before players get their hands on the content, ID’s leadership stepped up with a measured statement.
What Stays, What Goes
id Tech is surviving. Microsoft shut down rumors that Texas was down to a single engine maintainer, confirming dozens of developers continue work on the framework across ID and MachineGames. There are no plans to force either studio into Unreal Engine. Analysts already flagged deprecating the engine as fiscally irresponsible.
However, at the same time, handing more platform power to Epic would make sense on paper. The historical expertise spread across Wolfenstein and DOOM isn’t something you can just rewrite. You don’t rebuild a studio by burning the makers who built it. Keep in mind that ID had about 440 employees before the cuts. That leaves a core group that’s certainly leaner, but not hollowed out.
The projects that aren’t staying are another matter. Fury, a John Wick-style "Gun Fu" pitch from co-director Hugo Martin, was never greenlit and is now off the table. Perfect Dark got a quiet look after The Initiative’s reboot collapsed. Ironwood, the Western survival concept, and a multiplayer DOOM experiment are both in early exploration. Xbox leadership has been explicit about doubling down on DOOM and Quake. New IP development is likely shelved until the reset settles.
The Fallout Beyond Austin
The 136 ID cuts only tell half the story. Bethesda Game Studios in Austin is losing 22 more. ZeniMax Online Studios just took over 200 losses, which has already triggered shifting roadmaps for The Elder Scrolls Online. OneBGS, Bethesda’s union, is planning a "Save Our Devs" march. Forty-six of the affected workers at ID are represented by the Communication Workers of America. A WARN notice from the Texas Workforce Commission finally pushed the remote layoffs from an initial 96 to the full 136. The real number was worse than first reported.
Skai Chow, a gameplay animator at the studio, put it bluntly on X. The post paired a graphic of the sixth round of Microsoft layoffs with a direct message to anyone celebrating corporate "efficiency." It’s a sentiment shared across the Texas campus. Developer morale is fractured. You lose that trust overnight, and the pipeline stalls.
Jez Corden put a handle on the situation that tracks. "DOOM is eternal, and it will outlive Microsoft's bad decision-making." The studio isn’t being split. QuakeCon is still happening in August. The platform is intact. But the loss of generational talent doesn’t show up in quarterly earnings reports until later. Microsoft’s AI investments haven’t delivered meaningful returns yet, and Xbox’s platform social features have stalled with older cohorts. You’re looking at a franchise that will likely carry the weight for years, supported by a team that’s surviving on sheer momentum.
Head here for the official statement on X. For now, the DOOM pipeline keeps moving, even if the workforce behind it looks very different than it did in July.
