Doom expansion lands as reports detail deep cuts at id Software
The Revelations add-on for Doom: The Dark Ages arrived as several outlets reported steep layoffs at the Xbox-owned studio.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
id Software has released Revelations, a new expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages, while reports describe major job cuts at the studio behind the series. The timing puts a new Doom release next to fresh questions about the future size and capacity of one of Xbox’s best-known development teams.
The Verge’s Jay Peters reported that Revelations adds a powerful weapon and more demon-filled levels to Doom: The Dark Ages. Peters described the expansion as a substantial add-on and wrote that it quickly returns players to the combat rhythm of id’s modern Doom games.
According to The Verge, Doom: The Dark Ages had already altered the series’ recent formula by adding a shield that could also be thrown like a buzzsaw. Peters wrote that the new expansion highlights the core design identity that has defined id’s recent Doom titles: fast shooter combat built around movement, weapons and pressure.
Reports describe steep reductions at id
The expansion’s release came during what The Verge described as Xbox’s broader layoffs and strategy “reset.” The Verge reported that the launch was overshadowed by cuts at id Software, with several outlets publishing different figures on the scale of the reductions.
GamesBeat reported that at least 92 of id Software’s 185 full-time employees were laid off, a figure it described as roughly half the studio. Game Developer reported that a Texas WARN notice listed 96 cuts at id’s Richardson, Texas, office, along with 40 remote employees who reported to that location.
Kotaku reported, citing sources, that the team working on id Tech, the studio’s proprietary game engine, may have been reduced to one remaining employee. The Verge noted that the exact layoff totals differ by report but said each account points to deep cuts at the studio.
The reports place id Software among the Xbox-related teams affected by Microsoft’s restructuring. The Verge has grouped the developments under coverage of Xbox’s “reset,” which it says includes layoffs and studio changes across the gaming division.
A release framed by uncertainty
The Verge’s review focused on how Revelations reflects what id Software has brought to Doom since the series’ modern revival. Peters wrote that the games differ from one another but share a recognizable foundation of fast, aggressive first-person action.
The layoff reports add a separate business question around that creative output. If the reported cuts are accurate, id Software is releasing new Doom content at the same time its staffing, engine team and future production capacity are under scrutiny.
Microsoft and id Software responses were not included in The Verge’s report. For now, Revelations gives Doom players new content while outside reports describe a studio undergoing one of the most significant staff reductions tied to Xbox’s current restructuring.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.