id Software Gutted: 90 Employees Laid Off — Including Most Coders — On DOOM DLC Launch Day

On July 7, 2026, legendary FPS studio id Software became one of the most visible casualties of Xbox's historic mass layoff. Multiple anonymous sources confirmed to Game Developer that over 90 of the studio's roughly 200 employees were let go — a reduction of approximately 50 percent. What made it worse: it happened on the same day id Software's new DOOM: The Dark Ages DLC, Revelations, launched to the public.

Reports quickly emerged about who was cut. Apogee and 3D Realms founder Scott Miller, who worked with id Software in its formative years, wrote on social media that insider sources told him "most (if not all) coders" at id had been laid off. The studio's QA department was reportedly "decimated." A veteran id programmer, Michael Maynard — whose credits at the studio stretch back to 2011's Rage — confirmed on LinkedIn that he was among "the roughly 50%" cut.

The layoffs are part of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's broader restructuring plan, which announced 3,200 total cuts across the Xbox division on July 6. But for the gaming world, nothing hit quite as hard as watching id Software — the studio that invented modern FPS gaming in 1993 — reportedly lose half its team in a single day.

DOOM: The Dark Ages (Steam, id Software / Bethesda Softworks)

By the Numbers

Timeline

What Was Lost: The id Tech Engine Question

id Software was never just a game studio — it was a technology company that happened to make some of the most important games in history. Its proprietary id Tech engine, which powered both DOOM Eternal and DOOM: The Dark Ages, represents decades of specialized rendering, physics, and audio engineering that set it apart from the rest of the industry.

If "most (if not all) coders" were truly among those laid off, that likely means the team capable of maintaining and advancing id Tech has been decimated. Given that Xbox previously moved the Halo franchise from its proprietary engine to Unreal Engine 5 — a transition that drew criticism for notable performance stutters — speculation is rampant that id's franchises may follow the same path.

Former Bethesda Studios project lead Jeff Gardiner estimated 95 layoffs on X, calling the situation a de facto dismantling of the studio's technical core. Xbox has not commented specifically on the future of the id Tech engine.

The Cruel Irony of DLC Launch Day

The Revelations DLC for DOOM: The Dark Ages launched on July 7 to strong reception. Xbox Wire had called it "some of the studio's best work yet" — a 10-to-12-hour expansion featuring a new story campaign and the Chain Spear weapon, described by Game Director Hugo Martin as "the culmination of 35 years of DOOM." It was reportedly larger than DOOM Eternal's two DLC packs combined.

The team that built it was being walked out the door while players downloaded it.

Martin had told press earlier that Revelations "adds movement tech to Dark Ages combat" and would make "the tanky Dark Ages Slayer fly." For many fans, the bitter irony is that this expansive, ambitious expansion — released the same day as the layoffs — may represent the final major project from id Software as we've known it.

DOOM: The Dark Ages (App ID: 3017860, Steam)

ESO Also Hit Hard

id Software isn't the only ZeniMax studio gutted. A Kotaku report confirmed that roughly half of the team behind The Elder Scrolls Online at ZeniMax Online Studios was also let go. Community manager Jessica Folsom said the studio's content roadmap "will be shifting," leaving ESO's subscriber base — and its future update schedule — deeply uncertain.

What Each Side Said

Bethesda President — Jill Braff

In an internal email obtained by IGN, Braff wrote to remaining staff:

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"We are shifting from a planning model primarily centered on what's next for each independent studio to one that focuses on our strongest franchises and determining the content roadmap that best serves our players and Bethesda as a whole." — Jill Braff

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"We must strengthen our business, return to sustainable growth, and ensure we can continue investing in our franchises and our players. I know that doesn't make a day like today any easier." — Jill Braff

id Software Co-founder — John Romero

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"The people at id have done a great job moving that legacy forward. Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today's industry. The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people." — John Romero

Romero also urged Microsoft to preserve the source code and documentation associated with the current id Software team — as he has done personally with materials from the era he led the studio through 1996.

Laid-Off Developer — Michael Maynard

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"Just really sad that this is how id Software, the pioneer/innovator of FPS action games is relegated to just another 'reorganization' of assets." — Michael Maynard (LinkedIn)

Scott Miller (Apogee / 3D Realms Founder)

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"Insider reports that a majority of id had been laid off, including most (if not all) coders." — Scott Miller (social media)

Community Reaction

r/Doom and r/gaming were flooded with tributes and eulogies for id Software as fans knew it. The prevailing sentiment: "The era is over." Many drew parallels to the Halo engine transition, warning that id Tech was not just a tool — it was the soul of DOOM's feel.

Developers across the industry pointed to the DLC release timing as particularly brutal, calling it "the worst possible day" to announce cuts and questioning how Microsoft handled internal communications with the team.

ESO players began cancelling subscriptions en masse, with several prominent community members arguing that a 50%-reduced team cannot sustain the cadence of an active live-service MMO.

John Romero's tribute post went viral, drawing tens of thousands of shares and prompting an outpouring of job leads, recruiter DMs, and public support messages directed at the laid-off developers.

GamePeak Take

id Software mattered beyond its games. From the moment DOOM launched in 1993, the studio redefined what game engines could do — and that engineering tradition carried through to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016), DOOM Eternal, and DOOM: The Dark Ages, all of which demonstrated technical mastery over rendering, physics, and pacing that few studios in the world could match.

Three things stand out from today's news:

① The gap after Revelations is real. Xbox says it has "no intent of giving up on Doom and Quake," but half the team that built those games is now gone. Future DOOM and Quake titles, if they come, will be made by a fundamentally different id Software.

② The id Tech engine is in danger. The studio's proprietary engine is what made DOOM feel like DOOM — the snap of combat, the frame rate, the visual density. If Xbox migrates to UE5 (as it did with Halo), the technical identity of these franchises is at risk. The Halo UE5 experience, already criticized for stuttering, is a cautionary tale.

③ "Strongest franchises" doesn't square with gutting the studios behind them. Bethesda says it's refocusing on its strongest IP — then cut half of id Software, which made two of the best-reviewed games in Bethesda's recent history. The contradiction is hard to explain away.

For players, the near-term answer is Revelations — available now, and excellent on its own terms. For the long-term future of DOOM, Quake, and the id Software name, the picture became considerably darker on July 7, 2026.