id Software Says It Is "Doing Great" After Layoffs Cut Studio Staff by About Half

id Software co-director Marty Stratton has addressed the condition of the Doom and Quake developer following major Xbox layoffs, saying the studio is "doing great" despite losing roughly half of its employees during restructuring over the summer.

The comments came during a preview event for upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages downloadable content and were reported by IGN. Stratton did not dismiss the severity of the cuts, acknowledging that a substantial portion of the studio had departed. However, he said there had been a deliberate effort to ensure id Software could continue operating effectively across both its game-development work and technology teams.

"We're doing great," Stratton said. "Not to handwave the [layoffs] away. Everybody knows we had about half of our studio exit as part of that. But there was a very deliberate effort to make sure that we were incredibly viable coming out of that across everything we do, across game development and technology department."

The statement arrives amid a wider period of upheaval at Xbox. A total of 3,200 jobs are expected to be cut by the end of the current fiscal year as part of an extensive restructuring process. id Software is among the teams affected, and the scale of its reported losses has raised understandable questions about how a studio so closely associated with foundational first-person shooter technology will support both ongoing projects and its internal tools in the years ahead.

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Stratton's message is one of confidence, but it also underlines the difficult balance facing the studio. Remaining operational after a major workforce reduction is not the same as emerging untouched by it. Every game studio relies on specialized knowledge, internal relationships, and long-term technical continuity. When about half of a team exits, the impact can stretch well beyond a project's immediate staffing chart.

A Smaller Team, With Major Technology Responsibilities

id Software's importance within the Xbox organization is not limited to the games that bear the Doom and Quake names. The studio has long been known for its engine technology, with id Tech forming a central part of its identity and helping power its modern first-person shooters. That makes the reported staffing situation around the engine especially notable.

Reports indicate that id Tech is now managed by a single person. Stratton did not specifically address that claim in the remarks from the preview event, and it remains unclear what the day-to-day division of responsibilities looks like across id Software and its partner studios. Still, the idea that such a vital piece of internal technology may have a dramatically smaller dedicated team illustrates why observers are watching the situation so closely.

Game engines are not simply background software that can be left alone once a title launches. They need maintenance, tooling improvements, compatibility work, technical support, and adaptation for new projects. The demands increase when several teams share technology or when a developer is building games that need to meet modern performance and visual standards. A leaner structure can be financially viable, as Stratton suggested, but it also places increased importance on prioritization and collaboration.

That collaboration appears to be a major part of id Software's plan going forward.

MachineGames Partnership Takes on Greater Importance

Stratton said id Software is working more closely than ever with MachineGames, the Xbox-owned studio behind the modern Wolfenstein games and most recently Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The two developers have had a close relationship for years, but Stratton described their present technical cooperation as especially significant.

"We're working more closely with MachineGames than ever," Stratton said. "We've always had a very close partnership with them, but I think we're at a point with technology development that both teams are incredibly talented and have incredibly talented engineers and we're really on an amazing path that had started pre-[layoffs]."

That timing matters. Stratton said the work had begun before the layoffs, suggesting the expanded partnership was not conceived solely as a response to reduced staffing. Even so, a deeper exchange of engineering resources and technical expertise could be especially valuable now. id Software and MachineGames have both built acclaimed single-player shooters, and both have experience with id Tech-based development. A more integrated approach could help the studios share knowledge while reducing duplicated effort.

It is not yet known exactly what this cooperation will mean for specific games. The details of any shared technology roadmap have not been announced, nor has either studio outlined which future projects could benefit from the closer arrangement. What is clear is that Xbox's first-person shooter teams may be expected to operate with more overlap than they did previously.

Stratton said the studios were enthusiastic about their direction.

"We'd kicked this off earlier this year. We're really excited about that," Stratton said. "We're both really really bullish on what we have ahead."

Questions Remain Around Doom and Wolfenstein

For fans, the central unanswered question is what comes next. id Software is currently discussing additional content for Doom: The Dark Ages, but no broader announcement about the studio's next full project was made alongside Stratton's comments. Likewise, MachineGames' future plans remain unconfirmed following the release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Speculation has frequently pointed toward Wolfenstein 3 as a potential next project for MachineGames. That possibility would fit the studio's history with the series and the wider corporate emphasis on recognizable franchises. However, it remains a rumor rather than a confirmed announcement. Neither MachineGames nor Xbox has formally revealed a new Wolfenstein game in these comments.

There is also no confirmation of what a closer id Software and MachineGames partnership means for the next Doom entry, a future Quake project, or any entirely new work. The studios may be sharing technical development while pursuing separate games, or they may be building a more unified production framework behind the scenes. At this stage, the public information supports only the broad conclusion that their collaboration is becoming more substantial.

The uncertainty is heightened because both teams occupy important positions in Xbox's shooter portfolio. id Software carries decades of history through Doom, Quake, and the technical legacy of id Tech. MachineGames has established itself as a major narrative-driven action developer through its Wolfenstein titles and Indiana Jones. Their shared strengths make cooperation logical, but the consequences of a leaner id Software workforce will likely remain under scrutiny until the studios reveal more about their respective pipelines.

Confidence Meets a Changed Reality

Stratton's comments offer the clearest public assessment yet from id Software leadership after the job cuts. His emphasis was not that the layoffs were insignificant; instead, he acknowledged their scale while arguing that the studio had been structured to remain capable after them.

That distinction will matter to employees, players, and the wider development community. Layoffs on this scale affect people first, including those whose experience helped shape the studio's games and technology. They also reshape how a developer works, even if the projects in progress continue. Teams can respond by changing scope, redistributing responsibilities, relying more heavily on partner studios, or focusing resources on a smaller group of priorities.

In id Software's case, the reported deeper alignment with MachineGames may become the most visible sign of that changed approach. The partnership could provide a path for continued technical advancement and ambitious shooter development even with fewer people inside id itself. But it will also be judged by results: the quality of future releases, the durability of id Tech support, and the studios' ability to communicate their plans when they are ready.

For now, there are no newly confirmed games attached to Stratton's remarks beyond the forthcoming Doom: The Dark Ages DLC preview context. What fans have is a strong expression of optimism from studio leadership, an acknowledgment that the team is substantially smaller, and a promise that id Software and MachineGames see considerable potential in working more closely together.

It is an encouraging message during a difficult moment, though it does not erase the questions created by the layoffs. The next announcements from id Software and MachineGames will show whether that confidence translates into a clear new era for two of Xbox's most important first-person shooter studios.