Romero Games, the studio founded ten years ago by DOOM series creator John Romero and his weife Brenda, confirmed its next unannounced project is no longer in the works, and the project's cancellation is related to the recent wave of Xbox layoffs.
In a new message shared on X, the studio confirmed that their unnamed publisher has canceled funding for their game alongside several other unannounced projects at other studios. This was a strategic decision made at a high level within the publisher and above the studio's visibility and control. The decision to cancel the project, the message continues, does not in any way reflect the team's work, performance, or quality of the project. Development was reportedly proceeding well, but this wasn't enough to avoid the project from being canned.
While Romero Games' message doesn't mention the publisher's name, a message shared on X by the studio's former hard surface artist, Christoph Redl, confirms that the project's cancellation is a consequence of the recent wave of Xbox layoffs. The artist isn't the only former member of the team to have been laid off, as the workforce of the entire studio has reportedly been laid off.
As mentioned in the message above, Romero Games' new project is not the only one that has been canceled as a result of this week's Xbox layoffs, and a lot of studios have been impacted, from Forza Motorsport series developer Turn 10, which was hit hard with over 70 employees having been laid off, to Zenimax Online, whose new MMORPG has been canceled, and Perfect Dark's developer The Initiative, which has been shut down following the cancellation of its highly anticipated project. All of these projects haven't been as fortunate as the Romero Games' title, which has been saved and refactored into a title that plays like nothing on the market.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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