Doom Creator John Romero Revives Xbox-Canceled Game At New Publisher
Doom creator John Romero says Romero Games has found a new publisher for its next shooter, after Xbox cancelled the project during its 2025 layoffs. The studio owns the project’s intellectual property and has redesigned the game to fit a much smaller team, giving the work a chance to continue in a new form.
The team initially shrank from 110 developers to five when funding proved difficult, and has since grown to about 15, with some former staff rehired. Romero says the new game will reuse characters, artwork and code from the cancelled project, but will be substantially different from the original plan. The publisher and announcement date have not been revealed.
In short
- Romero Games has secured a new publisher.
- The Xbox-cancelled shooter has been redesigned.
- The studio now employs about 15 developers.
Explained simply
John Romero is a game designer best known for helping create Doom, a landmark first-person shooter released in 1993. He later founded Romero Games, an independent studio that develops video games.
Xbox is Microsoft’s gaming business and has funded projects made by outside studios. Romero Games owns the rights to its cancelled project, so it can continue developing the game with another publisher, which helps pay for development and release. The project is being reshaped for a smaller team, and the new publisher has not been named.