id Software has cut roughly half its staff, approximately 90 jobs, according to Game Developer reporting corroborated by former staffer Michael Maynard on LinkedIn. Microsoft and id have not formally confirmed the figure, though the reporting from multiple outlets has not been disputed.

The cuts arrived days after the studio shipped an expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages in July 2026. They sit within a far larger restructuring across Microsoft's Xbox division: Xbox boss Asha Sharma announced 3,200 total layoffs, split between 1,600 immediate cuts and another 1,600 over the coming months, plus the departure of four studios to new ownership entirely. Bethesda, ZeniMax, and Obsidian Entertainment were also affected.

ZeniMax Media, id's parent company, will concentrate on four franchises going forward: The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, and Doom, according to Bloomberg reporting cited by Engadget. Bethesda's leadership told staff the studio "needs to change course" and focus on "strongest franchises." One notable exception: MachineGames, currently developing a new Wolfenstein title, was not hit by cuts. Xbox leadership framed the restructuring as essential to keeping "our core" healthy.

What makes this layoff noteworthy is id Software's union status. The studio's wall-to-wall bargaining unit, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, was voluntarily recognized by Microsoft in 2025 under a labor neutrality agreement — an unusual step for a major technology company. More than a year later, id's union members and Microsoft have still not finalized a collective bargaining agreement.

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. stated that Microsoft "slow-walked" union members at the bargaining table, which he said denied them contract protections that a completed agreement would have provided. The union is now demanding "immediate bargaining" over "fair severance" terms for affected workers.

The timing here matters on its own terms: a workforce that organized to gain leverage over decisions like this one now confronts a major layoff while their first contract remains unsigned. Whether this shapes organizing efforts elsewhere in Microsoft's game studios, or in the wider industry, is something the game development community will watch closely. A studio that chose to unionize as a way to have a voice in corporate decisions is learning, in real time, how much that voice actually carries when a parent company decides to cut headcount.

John Romero, id's co-creator and the lead designer of the original Doom, responded to the reports by saying he hopes people are documenting id's history. Romero left the studio in 1996 and holds no operational role today, but his comment touches on a broader concern among veteran industry figures about preserving institutional memory at a studio now over three decades old.

The scale here sits at an unusual crossroads for the game industry. Layoffs and restructuring following major acquisitions happen regularly. What is comparatively new is watching this collide directly with an active, unresolved union bargaining process at a studio with id's cultural standing. How that bargaining dispute resolves — more than the layoff number alone — signals whether newly organized studios have practical leverage when a parent company restructures. Microsoft and id have not issued formal statements confirming these reports.