The recent mass Xbox layoffs affected DOOM developer id Software in a major way, removing around 73.5% of the staff at their home office in Richardson, Texas. That worried fans, but the studio has tried to downplay the manpower reduction, suggesting it can still make new games and maintain its idTech engine.
Now, DOOM: The Dark Ages Game Director Hugo Martin has returned to the subject during yesterday's episode of the Slayer Club Live streaming series. Martin once again assured fans that there's enough staff to keep going, and he'd personally love to complete the story arc they have in mind for the Slayer.
The door is open to be able to… I would love to be able to complete that story all the way up to the Sarcophagus. There's been reports that like, our team, that we've been like, nerfed and gutted to the ground and only have 50 people now. That's not true. We're the same team size as when we made DOOM 2016 and IDTech is very much alive and well. You have to understand that we have engineers at both Frankfurt and also at MachineGames as well. IDTech is over there, the DOOM team is here, and we're excited to share with you guys more of what we're working on in the future when that's approved.
Martin also credited the fans' love for the studio as a whole and for the newly released DLC DOOM: The Dark Ages - Revelations with aiding the studio's morale at an unfortunate time.
And look, the fact that we made a game that people like and is critical and commercially successful, and like I said, it's doing very well related to the forecast and stuff... That's good for everyone: for the people at the studio, for the people who, unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to. I think that helps everyone, and we really appreciate your support. People's overwhelming support of everyone who was affected in the layoffs and amplifying their stuff and championing the art, which you guys did before, and now you do after, like it's just incredible. So hats off.
The DOOM community is admittedly still skeptical, though I suppose there won't be any way to truly reassure them until id Software can unveil whatever project they're working on now.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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