id Software has confirmed significant staff reductions in the wake of Xbox's broader layoff announcement, losing 96 employees at its Richardson headquarters and 40 remote workers, with further cuts at its Frankfurt satellite office. Creative director Hugh Martin dismissed characterisations of the studio as 'gutted', claiming the current team size mirrors that of the original DOOM 2016 project and asserting that id Tech continues to operate through distributed engineering across multiple offices.

Despite official statements, industry commentators remain unconvinced, pointing out that workforce reductions exceeding 130 people represent material disruption to operational continuity and workplace culture regardless of whether total headcount technically remains steady. The studio's reassurances read as public relations containment rather than substantive reassurance, particularly as leadership has avoided specifying which disciplines or projects bore the brunt of the cuts. Whether id Software can rebuild momentum remains an open question.