“We’re doing great,” says id Software boss, despite losing “about half of our studio” amid devastating Xbox cuts
id Software, the legendary Doom and Quake developer owned by Microsoft, experienced significant staff reductions as part of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s broader studio restructuring earlier this year. Approximately 136 employees—representing roughly half of the studio’s workforce—were laid off during what Microsoft characterized as a strategic “reset” of its gaming division.
In response to inquiries about the studio’s current state, id Software co-studio director Marty Stratton stated, “We’re doing great,” while explicitly acknowledging the substantial impact of the layoffs. Stratton was careful to note he wasn’t dismissing the significance of the cuts, instead describing them as a “deliberate effort” intended to strengthen and ensure the studio’s long-term success in the competitive gaming industry.
However, Stratton’s optimistic assessment represents an executive perspective on the situation. The studio leadership did not comment on the internal experience of remaining employees or how surviving staff have responded to losing approximately half their colleagues. The layoffs were part of a comprehensive restructuring affecting numerous Microsoft-owned game studios under Sharma’s new strategic direction for Xbox.