Doom officially returns with an excellent brand-new release that’s saddled with Xbox baggage
Id Software’s new Doom: The Dark Ages expansion, Revelations, launches this week as an acclaimed addition to the well-received base game. The expansion introduces powerful new weapons and additional demonic levels to the series’ signature fast-paced shooter gameplay. Critics praise it as a quality evolution of the modern Doom franchise’s distinctive action-focused mechanics.
However, the expansion’s launch is significantly overshadowed by a major crisis at Id Software’s parent company Microsoft. On Monday, Microsoft announced 1,600 layoffs across its Xbox division, with an additional 1,600 employees expected to be dismissed by next year. Id Software was disproportionately affected—the studio has reportedly lost more than half of its 186-person workforce. The layoffs were not precipitated by poor performance; Doom: The Dark Ages was well-received and commercially successful. The cuts appear tied to broader restructuring across Microsoft’s gaming division, which also impacts Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment.
The contrast between the expansion’s critical reception and the studio’s operational crisis underscores a recurring tension in modern gaming: strong creative output does not guarantee job security in an industry increasingly focused on consolidation and portfolio optimization. For Id Software specifically, the layoffs threaten the team behind one of gaming’s most distinctive and influential franchises.