id Software, the studio behind DOOM, Quake and id Tech, has reportedly been hit hard by Xbox's latest round of layoffs, with early claims suggesting around half of the studio may have been affected.
The cuts have not been detailed by Microsoft at studio level, but Eurogamer reports that id Software is one of the ZeniMax teams taking a severe blow during the wider Xbox restructure that will cut roughly 3,200 jobs through Microsoft's 2027 fiscal year. The timing is especially bleak for DOOM players, as the reports arrived on the same day DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations is due to launch.
Ex-Bethesda project lead Jeff Gardiner wrote on X that he had "Just heard 95 at id," according to the report. That number would be devastating if accurate. The Communications Workers of America said in December 2025 that 165 of id Software's 185 workers had signed cards or otherwise voted for union representation, giving a recent public reference point for the studio's size.
Apogee and 3D Realms founder Scott Miller also claimed that a large part of id Software was being laid off, "including most (if not all) coders." That part of the report is still unconfirmed by Microsoft, but it is the detail that will worry longtime DOOM and Quake fans most. id Software is not just another Xbox studio. Its technology, programming culture and first-person shooter design history are central to why the studio still carries so much weight.
The cuts land during a major DOOM week
DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations is a paid campaign expansion adding new levels, demons and the Chain Spear weapon. It follows the May 2025 launch of DOOM: The Dark Ages, id Software's single-player prequel to DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal.
That makes the layoff reports sharper than a normal restructuring update. Players are getting a new piece of DOOM content while the people who build and maintain the series may be losing a huge amount of institutional knowledge behind it.
The concern goes beyond one DLC launch. Our previous coverage of the wider ZeniMax overhaul noted that Microsoft is reportedly leaning harder on Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Quake and Wolfenstein after the reset. If id Software has taken deep cuts while DOOM and Quake are still being treated as priority franchises, the question becomes what kind of studio is left to carry that work forward.
id had recently unionized after earlier Xbox cuts
The reported cuts also come only months after id Software workers formed a wall-to-wall union with CWA Local 6215. In the union announcement, CWA described id as a Texas-based Microsoft subsidiary behind Quake and DOOM, with developers, artists, programmers and other workers included in the unit.
At the time, id producer Andrew Willis said the union was a way for developers "to take back control of the industry we love" and push back against unilateral workplace changes. Lead services programmer Chris Hays also cited remote work as a major bargaining issue.
Microsoft has not publicly confirmed how many id Software roles are being eliminated in this specific wave. Until it does, the reported numbers should be treated as early accounts from people around the industry. Even with that caveat, the claims point to one of the most alarming studio-level impacts from Xbox's latest round of cuts so far.