Id Software co-founder John Carmack “can’t muster anger or outrage” over Xbox gutting the Doom studio, but does say it’ll “dampen the mood of the founder reunion”
Microsoft's decision to reduce Id Software's workforce by 136 employees prompted a measured response from co-founder John Carmack, who acknowledged the human impact whilst refraining from directing anger at company leadership. Carmack, now focused on artificial intelligence development, posited that the studio likely operated as a smaller revenue generator within Microsoft's portfolio, with other franchises like Minecraft producing substantially greater returns.
Carmack argued that sustainable game development requires commercial success alongside creative acclaim, emphasising that entertainment products face significant competition for consumer attention and spending. Rather than defaulting to criticism of executive decision-making, he outlined potential alternative approaches Microsoft might have pursued—including adjusted pricing, compressed development timelines, or expanded monetisation options—whilst acknowledging genuine uncertainty about whether such measures would have improved financial outcomes.
- Microsoft laid off 136 Id Software employees; co-founder John Carmack expressed sadness but defended the decision as commercially necessary
- Carmack suggested the studio was marginally profitable relative to other Microsoft properties and proposed alternative revenue strategies rather than blaming executive incompetence
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Id Software is a legendary game developer founded in the early 1990s that created Doom, one of the gaming industry's most influential and enduring franchises. The studio's technology and design innovations shaped how entire genres developed and defined expectations for the medium.
John Carmack co-founded Id Software and is considered one of gaming's most influential programmers and technological innovators. Though he has since stepped back from managing the studio to pursue artificial intelligence research, his legacy within the industry remains significant and his perspective on game development is widely respected.
Microsoft owns Id Software through parent company Bethesda, as part of a vast entertainment portfolio that includes many major gaming franchises. Game developers operate within a competitive industry where both critical acclaim and commercial success are important factors in sustaining a studio's operations and future projects.
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The case for
Entertainment studios operate in markets where competition for consumer attention is intense and budgets are fixed. Id Software, whilst culturally significant, generated substantially lower revenue than Microsoft's other major franchises, making it economically difficult to justify sustained investment at current scale. Every company, regardless of size, must make allocation decisions between competing projects; accepting lower-revenue divisions indefinitely depletes resources needed elsewhere. Carmack's acknowledgement that some form of correction was necessary reflects business reality that transcends corporate wealth.
The case against
Microsoft's enormous resources mean this decision prioritises profit maximisation over human welfare and cultural preservation rather than necessity. Wealthy corporations have latitude to maintain culturally significant studios whilst exploring alternatives like restructured roles, compressed timelines, or new revenue models, yet Id Software was simply cut. The layoffs of 136 skilled workers represent a failure of corporate imagination and an institutional choice to privilege shareholder returns above employee stability and the preservation of creatively important institutions.