Doom Dev Says “We’re Doing Great” After Half The Studio Was Just Laid Off

Doom developer id Software was among the numerous Microsoft-owned game studios that cut staff recently as part of the big Xbox "reset." What's the vibe like internally at the studio in the wake of that? Studio co-director Marty Stratton said in a recent interview, "We're doing great."

He said he wasn't trying to "handwave" the layoffs, and isn't shying away from acknowledging that "half of our studio" was laid off, IGN reported. Stratton said the layoffs were part of a "deliberate effort" to ensure id Software would succeed.

Stratton is an executive at id Software, and his perspective on the situation no doubt differs from other people at the studio. He didn't share any commentary on what the vibes are like internally at id currently for other people who survived the layoffs.

Stratton also mentioned how the shift brought id and MachineGames closer together--the two studios had always been "very close," but now the pair are working closer "than ever."

"We're at a point with technology development that both teams are incredibly talented and have incredibly talented engineers and we're really on an amazing path that had started pre-[layoffs]. We'd kicked this off earlier this year. We're really excited about that. We're both really really bullish on what we have ahead," he said.

The studio's latest release was 2025's Doom: The Dark Ages, while MachineGames released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in 2024. It's rumored that MachineGames is now making a new Wolfenstein game.