DOOM: Developers speak of "bloodbath" after new wave of layoffs

The cult franchise is not spared by the bloodbath that has struck the video game industry for the past two years. A developer describes the ongoing wave of layoffs at id Software as a "bloodbath."

One might have thought DOOM was safe. A historic franchise, a sure bet, the latest installment praised. No. According to the report published today by Notebookcheck, a developer from the studio speaks internally of a "bloodbath" ("bloodbath") to qualify the wave of layoffs that has just hit the team.

The facts

Notebookcheck reports that employees of id Software - the historic studio behind DOOM, owned by ZeniMax/Microsoft since 2021 - have leaked the term "bloodbath" to describe the extent of the cut. The exact number of positions affected has not yet been publicly confirmed. What is established, however, is that the franchise does not escape the logic of restructuring that has been sweeping through Microsoft Gaming since the acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023.

What this says about the industry

We have stopped counting the waves of layoffs since 2023. Bungie, 343 Industries, Arkane Austin (Microsoft studio closed after Redfall), Naughty Dog, EA, Ubisoft... The list is long and no longer concerns only the studios that "missed their game". It now affects teams that deliver critical and commercial successes.

What the formula "bloodbath" translates on the ground:

• Loss of studio memory - senior developers leave with their know-how.
• Next DOOM in question - the development cycles of AAA FPS are long (5-7 years).
• Signal sent to talents - even sanctuarized franchises are no longer.

For whom this is a bad sign

For players who were waiting for a sequel to DOOM: The Dark Ages, released last year in May 2025, uncertainty is real. For the PC ecosystem - id Tech remains one of the few proprietary engines still performing and regularly updated -, it's another concern. And for the modding scene that has lived on id games since the 90s, the future partly depends on the studio's ability to retain the people who know how the engine breathes.

To remember

Hot note: 6/10 for concern - we await official communication from id/Microsoft before commenting on the real extent. The internal statement mentioned needs to be confirmed. We continue to follow the saga of Xbox Gaming layoffs; at this stage, no studio can claim to be safe.