id Software was reportedly toying with a bunch of ideas for future game projects when Microsoft laid off more than half of the studio.
According to a new report from GamesBeat, 92 of 185 full-time employees were laid off from id Software. This has put a number of projects in question. The report notes that the studio was working on a bunch of projects, and sources aren’t sure how they can move forward on them with such a small team.
“I’m not convinced there is a viable way forward,” said one laid-off worker when speaking with GamesBeat. “It feels like a bunch of knee-jerk responses.”
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id Software just finished its work on the new Doom: The Dark Ages DLC, known as Revelations, and was looking at what its next full-scale project would be. One was a co-op/multiplayer Doom game that would’ve brought back weaponry from previous Doom games. Another was a new Perfect Dark game, since the property became available last year in the wake of Xbox’s shutdown of developer The Initiative and cancellation of its Perfect Dark reboot.
There were also concepts for a new game codenamed Fury. id Software apparently saw this as a way to stretch its legs beyond Doom, and envisioned it as a John Wick-inspired, noir sci-fi game with “Chicago and Louisiana gangsters.” Like John Wick, it would’ve combined martial arts with gunplay. The hope was to make it for Project Helix, the next-gen Xbox.
One other project that was being kicked around was a Westworld-inspired survival game, but not much else is known about it. It’s unclear if any of these projects will move forward, or if id Software will just become a support studio, assisting on games like The Elder Scrolls 6, Wolfenstein 3, Marvel’s Blade, or other projects within Xbox.
Last year, a similar situation happened to Turn 10 Studios, the team behind the Forza Motorsport franchise. The team was gutted as part of mass layoffs and there are now questions over whether or not the Motorsport series will continue, or if it will be completely replaced by the more successful Forza Horizon games.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
