id Software was one of the Xbox studios ravaged by layoffs this week amid broader cuts at Microsoft. WARN filings with the state of Texas indicated over 90 people were cut from the studio behind Doom, including veteran staff and senior talent. But despite concerns from impacted employees that id Software will not be able to carry on as it once did, the studio itself maintains that it will still be able to deliver the unique, high-quality games it’s known for.
“While our studio was impacted, those changes were spread across teams,” the studio announced in a statement on July 10. “We still have the crew we need to build the games and tech we’re known for. The team today is about the same size we were when making Doom (2016). We have always had a flat studio where everyone is a maker, and we will remain true to that philosophy moving forward.”
A message from id pic.twitter.com/4i4YyjB3xc
— id Software (@idSoftware) July 10, 2026
A WARN Notice filed in Texas this week confirmed 158 layoffs at Xbox subsidiary ZeniMax Media, under which id Software operates, from across the state. 96 of those layoffs happened at the id Software office in Richardson where the studio’s been located since 2011, with an additional 40 remote staff who report to there let go as well. Key positions were cut and entire teams were decimated, three sources told Kotaku.
Former staff were especially concerned about the fate of the studio’s proprietary game engine, id Tech, after the layoff notice listed the Director of Engine Technology at id Software as being among the cuts. That position was held by Billy Khan, who joined the studio back in 2010.
Despite claims reported by Kotaku that only one person was believed to be left on the core id Tech engine team in Texas, Microsoft has said that’s not the case. “There are dozens of people working on id Tech across multiple locations,” a spokesperson for Xbox said. “Reports that there’s only one person left in Texas are inaccurate.”
The company declined to comment on any future projects the studio may be working on at the moment. Sources told Kotaku that nothing was currently greenlit, though there were pitches for multiplayer DLC for Doom: the Dark Ages and a non-Doom game floating around within the studio.
