Hugo Martin denies Doom was “nerfed into the ground” after Xbox layoffs cut 96 Texas jobs

Hugo Martin, id Software creative director, is directly contradicting the loudest narrative coming out of the Xbox layoffs: that Doom’s developer was “nerfed into the ground” and “gutted” and now has only about 50 people. Martin says that is not true, and insists id Software is still the size it was when it made the 2016 Doom reboot, with id Tech “very much alive and well.”

The dispute is happening while layoffs are documented in the real world. A WARN notice filed in Texas last week, reported by Game Developer, says 96 workers were laid off in Richardson, Texas, home of id Software, and another 40 remote roles were cut. The cuts are estimated to have affected half the id Software staff. Martin’s message is a response to the implication that id is hollowing out even if the studio is still operational.

So what is actually going on? The layoffs were part of a broader “reset” of Microsoft’s gaming business under its new CEO Asha Sharma. That reset began with 1,600 staff losing their jobs, and another 1,600 is expected to be let go during the rest of the current financial year. The source also notes that four Xbox studios have already been shut down, with another studio reportedly “hot on their heels.” In other words, id is not being singled out in a vacuum. It is caught inside a company-wide rebalancing that is already removing teams and restructuring how work gets funded.

id’s own public posture has also been trying to control the story. Last week, the studio issued a statement saying it was now at the staffing level it had back when it made the 2016 Doom reboot, and it pushed back on the idea that essentially no one remains at the company working on id Tech, the engine used by id and fellow Bethesda-owned studio MachineGames to build games. Xbox confirmed to IGN that “there are dozens of people working on id Tech across multiple locations,” and that previous reports claiming only one person was left in Texas are “inaccurate.” Martin doubles down on that in his livestream remarks, pointing to collaboration between id Tech engineers in Frankfurt and at MachineGames, and stating “The id Tech is there, the Doom team is here.”

The headline question is not just whether the studio exists. It is whether the core technical capability and the creative machine that ships premium games can survive a headcount shock. That is why the details in Martin’s comments matter. He says the studio’s current team size is comparable to the 2016 Doom era, and he frames id Tech continuity as both distributed and actively used, with collaboration across locations rather than concentrated in one Texas office.

Martin also tried to answer another subtext in the layoffs coverage: if teams are shrinking, are the games performing well enough to justify the investment? He suggested Doom: The Dark Ages, a prequel to 2016's Doom and 2020's Doom Eternal, is meeting commercial expectations. Martin tied that to the studio making “a game that people like” that is “critical and commercially successful,” adding that it is “doing very well related to the forecast and stuff.” He further said the layoffs were painful for the people who were let go, but that the outcome, in his framing, helps everyone. He did not provide new sales numbers in the source, but he did make it clear he believes performance supports the continued existence of both the engine and the Doom team.

Outside the messaging, workers are still applying pressure. Laid off staff reportedly protested outside Bethesda offices, including id Software's. According to Kera News, dozens of workers attended a “Save our Devs” rally outside id Software's Richardson office building on Wednesday. The event was organized across multiple cities in the United States and Canada by workers represented by the Communications Workers of America union. The CWA is currently negotiating an exit agreement with Microsoft. That matters because it adds another layer to the story: even if id Tech is staffed and doom is planned, the labor side is actively trying to shape how the transition is handled, which can influence timelines, agreements, and reputational risk.

The studio leadership also weighed in, but in different emotional registers. Co-founders John Romero and John Carmack both issued statements on the layoffs. Romero posted support for affected id Software staff and urged the studio’s legacy be preserved, saying Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein are “not easy names to carry on,” and citing “care, skill and respect” in recent games. Carmack expressed sadness without “anger or outrage,” and questioned whether id Software’s games had sold well enough to prevent the layoffs. Those remarks reinforce how public narratives form quickly in big studio restructures: even within the same company history, people can disagree on whether the layoffs reflect mismanagement, market reality, or both.

Looking forward, there is still uncertainty about what id makes next. GamesBeat reported that id Software had been formulating new game ideas, including “a John Wick-style original IP,” “a new Perfect Dark game,” and a “multiplayer / co-op Doom game” before the layoffs hit. Separately, The Verge’s Tom Warren has said id Software is now working on a new Doom game. For executives and board members, the strategic stake is simple but high: layoffs reshape which projects survive, which teams stay intact, and whether engine stewardship remains credible to internal staff and external partners. Martin says the engine and Doom team are intact. WARN notices, union activity, and broader Xbox studio cuts say something else is definitely happening at speed. The next few announcements will be where those two realities either reconcile or collide.