Doom Director Defends Id Software Amid Xbox Restructuring Concerns

WHO:

Eurogamer.net - Hugo Martin, co-studio director of id Software

Kotaku - Hugo Martin, creative director of id Software; Joshua Boyle, community lead at id Software; Jerry Keehan, Mission Design Director at id Software; Communications Workers of America (CWA)

WHAT:

Eurogamer.net - id Software lost nearly three quarters of its 185-person staff, reducing the workforce to 49 people.

Eurogamer.net - Reports described the layoffs as a "bloodbath."

Eurogamer.net - Martin stated, "There's been reports that we've been nerfed into the ground and gutted and we have 50 people, and that's not true."

Kotaku - Martin mentioned that id Software is the same size as when they made Doom 2016.

Kotaku - Martin expressed excitement about sharing future projects when appropriate and approved.

Kotaku - The Revelations expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages was released last week.

Kotaku - 1,600 jobs have already been cut in the latest round of layoffs, with more layoffs expected between now and next summer.

WHERE:

Eurogamer.net - The layoffs affected id Software, part of the Xbox division.

Kotaku - id Tech engineers are located in Frankfurt and at MachineGames.

WHEN:

Kotaku - The Revelations expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages was released last week.

Kotaku - Additional layoffs are expected to occur sometime between now and next summer.

WHY:

Eurogamer.net - The layoffs are part of Microsoft's wide-reaching Xbox cuts.

Kotaku - The restructuring has left the Xbox division reeling.

HOW:

Eurogamer.net - Martin emphasized collaboration with id Tech engineers in Frankfurt and at MachineGames.

Kotaku - Laid-off employees protested outside their former office, represented by the CWA, which filed labor complaints against Microsoft for not negotiating prior to the layoffs.

(UPDATED July 17, 2026 16:26 UTC)

In a significant restructuring move, id Software has seen its workforce slashed from 185 to just 49 employees, a change described by reports as a "bloodbath." Despite the drastic cuts, co-studio director Hugo Martin reassured that the team remains the same size as when they developed Doom in 2016, expressing excitement about future projects while noting that the Revelations expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages was released just last week. The layoffs are part of a broader series of cuts within Microsoft's Xbox division, with 1,600 jobs already eliminated and more expected to follow between now and next summer, prompting protests from laid-off employees represented by the Communications Workers of America.