id Software, the studio behind the Doom video game series, has laid off roughly half its workforce — about 90 people. Microsoft, which owns the studio, has not formally confirmed this, but multiple news outlets have reported the same figure based on statements from former employees.

This layoff happened just days after the studio released new content for Doom: The Dark Ages. But id Software is not alone. Microsoft announced it is cutting 3,200 jobs across its entire Xbox gaming division. Another 1,600 cuts are coming later. Four game studios are also being sold to new owners.

Microsoft plans to focus on its biggest game franchises going forward: The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, and Doom. One studio, MachineGames (which is making a new Wolfenstein game), was not affected by the cuts.

What makes this story unusual is that id Software has a union. In 2025, Microsoft agreed to recognize the union at id, which represents workers' interests in negotiations with the company. This was a big deal because most video game companies have resisted unionization.

Here is the problem: more than a year has passed, and the union and Microsoft still have not reached a final contract. That contract would normally protect workers in situations like this layoff. The union's leaders say Microsoft deliberately slowed down negotiations to avoid giving workers those protections. The union is now demanding Microsoft negotiate immediately about fair layoff payments for the affected workers.

This situation reveals something important about unions in the game industry. Workers at id organized to gain a say in company decisions like layoffs. But without a completed contract, their leverage is limited. The next few weeks will show whether unionized game studios can actually protect their workers when cuts come.

John Romero, who created id Software in the early 1990s and designed the original Doom, made a public comment hoping that people are preserving the studio's history. He left id in 1996 and no longer works there, but his comment reflects concern among industry veterans about not losing the studio's legacy.

Microsoft has not officially announced these job cuts at id Software, though the reporting from game industry journalists has not been disputed by the company.