John Romero Reacts to Xbox Layoffs, Praises id Software’s Legacy Forward

John Romero has spoken out about the layoffs hitting id Software, the Microsoft-owned studio caught up in a broad Xbox reorganization tied to major cuts across the division.

Microsoft’s head of gaming, Asha Sharma, outlined the plan as the “most significant” restructure in Xbox’s history. She said 1,600 employees would be let go immediately, with an additional 1,600 positions expected to disappear during the current financial year. As part of the change, four studios are moving away from Xbox leadership to new management, while one additional studio is currently in consultation regarding what happens next.

The shake-up has hit ZeniMax Media—the company behind Bethesda—particularly hard. ZeniMax Online Studios has reportedly taken substantial cuts, forcing the remaining team working on The Elder Scrolls Online to reconsider how future content will be handled. id Software is also facing major losses.

Jeff Gardiner, a former project lead at Bethesda Studios, said Doom’s developer has lost 95 staff members. Gardiner also pointed out that among the people affected is principal character artist Denzil O’Neill, who worked on Doom The Dark Ages, Doom Eternal, and Doom over a 12-year stretch at the studio. The Dark Ages expansion is scheduled to launch later this week.

What John Romero said about the id Software layoffs

Romero—co-founder of id Software and the creative mind behind Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Quake—posted to social media to express support for affected workers and to emphasize the importance of preserving the studio’s legacy.

“I’m so sorry for everyone at id Software affected by these layoffs,” Romero wrote.

He added that he understands the pain of leaving id while it continues without you, describing it as a difficult step away from a place that shaped years of work, relationships, and history.

Romero said the studio’s teams have done an excellent job carrying that legacy forward, noting that DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to keep alive—especially in today’s industry. He also referenced the “last few games” as evidence of care, skill, and respect for what those worlds mean to players.

He then turned to the topic of digital preservation, calling id’s history “critically important” to the wider history of games. Romero said he preserved id’s full early history, starting from the studio’s time at Softdisk and extending through August 6, 1996. He claimed this includes materials and assets that, as far as he knows, id itself no longer holds. He said he hopes others are doing something similar to protect the company’s ongoing legacy—covering work, code, assets, stories, and the people behind them.

In closing, Romero said he was thinking about everyone at id today and everyone impacted by the layoffs, and he referenced Romero Games as being present a year earlier. He said he knows how devastating that situation can be and that his “heart” is with those affected.

How this connects to Romero Games’ cancellation

Romero’s remarks also point back to last year’s cancellation of Romero Games’ shooter. Reports said Microsoft withdrew funding as part of layoffs in July 2025. That same wave of job cuts also included the cancellation of Rare’s Everwild and The Initiative’s Perfect Dark reboot.

Romero Games did not close. The Romeros told fans they were “evaluating opportunities” with publishers that had reportedly been in contact since the funding problems were announced. Very little was publicly known about the shooter at the time, beyond the fact that it was a first-person game.

What’s next for id Software (and what Xbox says it wants)

For now, id Software’s future is still unclear. MachineGames is described as having survived the cuts, and a new Wolfenstein project is widely expected at this point. The question hanging over id Software is whether any remaining staff could be redeployed to support MachineGames’ development—or potentially assist another studio on a new Fallout entry.

Sharma emphasized that Xbox intends to focus harder on its biggest franchises. Bethesda leadership has delivered a similar message internally. Bethesda boss Jill Braff told staff that the company is changing how it plans, shifting away from a structure focused mainly on what each independent studio is “next” and toward a model that prioritizes the strongest franchises and builds a content roadmap meant to serve both players and Bethesda overall.

Braff also said the organization will then align the right talent, technology, and resources across the company to meet those priorities.

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier previously stated that Bethesda will keep working on Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake, alongside The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

Photo by Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images for SDCCMalaga.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].