- id Software has delivered solid first-person shooters one after another over the last decade.
- Following Xbox’s latest layoffs, the team has been stripped to half of its original size.
- This leaves the studio’s future uncertain, likely setting the stage for its talents and technology going to waste.
At the beginning of the current generation, Microsoft confirmed its purchase of ZeniMax Media, netting it rights to all the studios under the Bethesda Softworks umbrella. This included the likes of Arkane Lyon, Bethesda Game Studios, and, of course, id Software. At that point, id Software had been on somewhat of a comeback streak following the release of Doom 2016.
The team had only cemented its strengths as one of the industry’s finest studios with Doom Eternal just one year before the acquisition, so there was little doubt that the developer would become a huge asset to Xbox’s first-party lineup. Fast forward to today, however, and id Software has seemingly been left in shambles.
Why it matters: Xbox has recently confirmed over 3,000 layoffs. This announcement marks one of Xbox’s most extensive job-cutting efforts, leaving very few first-party teams safe.
id Software’s Work Over The Last Decade
The studio’s main efforts have been spent rejuvenating the Doom series over the last decade. Following the disappointment of Doom 3, the soft reboot in 2016 effectively introduced a whole new audience to the series.
In particular, id Software was successful in modernizing Doom’s gameplay while still keeping elements of the original intact. The addition of Glory Kills, in particular, became one of modern Doom’s strongest asset, giving it a very distinct identity in the first-person shooter genre.
id Software then took things one step further with Doom Eternal, a game many still discuss as one of the best first-person shooters of the last decade. After Doom Eternal, many thought it would be hard for id Software to iterate on the formula, but the team took yet another risk with Doom: The Dark Ages.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the Doom trilogy is that id Software tried something different with each new entry. All three games effectively offered completely different experiences, and as such, also have entirely separate fanbases.
Sure, the last three Doom games, and The Dark Ages in particular, may not have lit the world on fire, but they were certainly among the most enjoyable first-person shooter experiences of the last decade.
Might I also mention that id Software remains among the few developers still supporting single-player first-person shooter games in an era where everyone is chasing the live-service pie.
id Software’s work on Doom aside, the team has also innovated id Tech in the last few years, becoming among the leading developers to have gone all-in on new technology like ray-tracing. In fact, id Tech’s entire identity is built around how polished and well-optimized the engine is.
Elsewhere, id Software has co-developed games like Rage 2, Quake Champions, and more during this time. The studio has also collaborated on the modern Wolfenstein releases, sharing its technology with MachineGames during this time.
All of this is to say that id Software’s output has been nothing short of stellar over the last decade, even if the team still lacks a commercial success on par with other AAA giants. This makes it all the more surprising, then, that Xbox has decided to seemingly rip the studio and leave it in a barebones state.
Xbox’s Treatment of id Software
Xbox is said to have laid off over 130 id Software developers. This is a huge number, considering the studio was never particularly large to begin with. Moreover, it has been said that most of the layoffs have impacted those in the tech department.
At a time when Xbox’s first-party output has still been hit or miss, Doom: The Dark Ages is a shining example of what the gaming giant’s studios are still capable of. Ultimately, Xbox’s decision to push the title on Game Pass held it back in a major way, and the gaming giant is now punishing id Software for this setback.
It must also be mentioned that id Software, in addition to the likes of The Coalition and Playground Games, is among Xbox’s most refined teams when it comes to the technical aspects of game development.
Instead of leveraging the strengths of id Tech for other games like Halo, which recently migrated to Unreal Engine, Xbox’s latest decision has likely done long-term harm to the technology.
Xbox Keeps Making The Same Mistake Again And Again
Ultimately, Xbox’s latest cuts are about economics. Doom: The Dark Ages was likely seen as a disappointment by the higher-ups at Microsoft because it failed to break new bounds within the first-person shooter.
The game was also divisive by nature and had huge shoes to fill due to how great its predecessors were. However, Xbox continues to somehow champion creativity and risk-taking while lacking the tolerance for missteps and commercial underperformers.
The gaming giant made the exact same mistake with Hi-Fi Rush, a project that was, by all means, an excellent and unique action game in 2023. Despite industry-wide praise for Tango Gameworks, Xbox rewarded the studio by shutting it down only a year after Hi-Fi Rush’s release.
id Software’s treatment effectively highlights the same problem. The team has been hard at work on Doom: The Dark Ages updates since launch and has addressed nearly all of the fan feedback with small tweaks to the gameplay, impacting the parry timings, core mechanics, and more.
The Dark Ages’ latest DLC also brings back the satisfaction of Doom Eternal’s Meat Hook and showcases an evolution of the core formula that other games would typically deliver in a proper sequel.
Despite all of this praise-worthy content, id Software has unfortunately been among the teams hit the hardest by Xbox’s restructuring.
At the end of the day, Xbox has again proven to lack foresight with this decision. Recent rumors suggest id Software had all sorts of new pitches in mind for future projects, including one for Perfect Dark, which would have been a practically “perfect” fit for the studio (pun intended).
Instead of realizing id Software’s strengths and long-term potential as an asset to the Xbox brand and games industry as a whole, the Xbox management has jumped the gun, pulling a move that could tarnish the team’s legacy as we know it today.
As a huge fan of id Software’s work, I couldn’t be more disappointed by this decision. I still hope the studio is able to pull through and emerge as a stronger team from this experience, but with the current state of the games industry, I struggle to think of how that would be possible.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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