Even with widespread layoffs at Xbox, both within its first-party studios and outside, id Software has become a focal point of discussion. Initially, it began with reports that much of the studio was laid off, and that the id Tech Engine team was in shambles. id Software later claimed that it’s the same size as when it shipped DOOM (2016).
Co-studio director Hugo Martin echoed those statements in a new Slayer’s Club Live stream, when he said, “There’s been reports that we’ve been nerfed into the ground and gutted and we have 50 people, and that’s not true. We’re the size we were when we made DOOM (2016), and id Tech is very much alive and well.
“You have to understand we have id Tech engineers both in Frankfurt and at MachineGames – we collaborate quite a bit. So id Tech is there, the Doom team is here, and we’re excited to share with you guys more of what we’re working on in the future when it is appropriate and approved.”
Of course, rumors have already circulated that the team is working on a new Doom game. Martin has expressed interest in finishing the Slayer’s story until he’s sealed away, which precludes the beginning of DOOM (2016). Whether that will be at the same scale as The Dark Ages, much less Eternal, remains to be seen given the smaller team.
However, a former id employee said that claims the studio can still make games is “stretching reality to breaking point.” Much of the team who worked on the recent Revelations expansion have reportedly been let go and couldn’t “imagine a path forward where they make another game in id Tech.” Keep in mind that this is after Xbox said that work won’t stop on Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein.
We’ll only really know when the next Doom is announced, but that may take a long while, so stay tuned. In the meantime, at least the Wolfenstein series is seemingly alive with a live-action TV series and Wolfenstein 3 in the works. An official announcement has yet to be made, though.
