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Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/07/bethesda-id-software-reportedly-hit-hard-by-microsoft-layoffs/ [arstechnica.com]

In announcing plans for 3,200 layoffs across the Xbox division [arstechnica.com] yesterday, CEO Asha Sharma focused on discussing cuts to the Xbox platform team and redundant layers of middle management.
[...]
Apogee and 3D Realms founder Scott Miller—who helped publish some of id’s earliest games [mobygames.com]—wrote on social media [x.com] yesterday of “insider reports” that a majority of id had been laid off, “including most (if not all) coders.” And last night, veteran programmer Michael Maynard—whose credits at id Software [mobygames.com] date back to 2011’s Rage—wrote on LinkedIn [linkedin.com] that he was among the “roughly 50%” of the id team that was let go Monday.
[...]
Id co-founder John Romero wrote in a social media thread [x.com] about his sorrow over the layoffs, saying that the people behind the current incarnation of the company “have done a great job” maintaining its legacy. “Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today’s industry,” he wrote. “The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people.” Romero also urged Microsoft to preserve the code and documents associated with the current version of id, as Romero says he has for the incarnation he helped lead until 1996.
[...]
Meanwhile, IGN obtained an email [ign.com] from Bethesda President Jill Braff [linkedin.com] to staffers expressing “sincere gratitude” to “a number of our colleagues” that were impacted by the layoffs. IGN says employees at Bethesda studios were “hit particularly hard” by the layoffs, while remaining staffers are “facing an uncertain future” as Microsoft said it is planning to lay off 1,600 more employees throughout this fiscal year (in addition to 1,600 let go yesterday).
[...]
could be bad news for newer franchises like Starfield [ign.com] and for The Elder Scrolls Online, with the latter game losing as much as half of its developers, according to a Kotaku report [kotaku.com].

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