"What matters the most is that the games are good"

Image credit: Id Software

While reports about Microsoft's mass layoffs have painted a devastating picture, the company and affected studios like Doom developers Id Software have been publicly trying to reassure players that the cuts aren't the end of the world. Doom: The Dark Ages director Hugo Martin has stuck to that line while acknowledging the layoffs during on official livestream of the game's Revelations DLC, which came out the same week 136 Id workers were shown the door.

"There’s been reports that we’ve been ‘nerfed into the ground’ and ‘gutted’ and we have 50 people and that’s not true," Martin said at around the 50 minute mark of the stream, as spotted by Kotaku. "We’re the size we were when we made Doom 2016 and id Tech is very much alive and well. You have to understand we have id Tech engineers both in Frankfurt and at MachineGames. We collaborate quite a bit. So, the IDTech is there, the Doom team is here, and we're excited to share with you guys more of what we're working on in in the future, when it is appropriate and approved."

Id senior community lead Joshua Boyle then chimed in to thank Doom fans for both getting behind Id's efforts to get the Revelations DLC out and offering "overwhelming support of everyone that was affected in the layoffs, amplifying their stuff and championing the art".

"Look, the fact that we made a game that people like and is [critically] and commercially successful - like I said, it’s doing very well related to the forecast and stuff - that’s good for everyone," Martin added. "For the people at the studio, for the people who unfortunately we had to say goodbye to, I think that helps everyone and we really appreciate your support. But what matters the most is that the games are good and I’m so happy that people, I don’t know...it’s just a good thing for everybody, I know it’s going to help. So, we are really here to just play the game now and celebrate the work."

Martin's assertion that The Dark Ages is doing well compared to forecasts is noteworthy, as one of the sentiments expressed by developers following the layoffs has been that studios like Id and ZeniMax weren't given a clear picture by Microsoft of which important metrics for success in the company's eyes for their games weren't hitting, leaving them unsure which, if any, of these they might have contributed most heavily to them losing their jobs.

Communications Workers of America (CWA)-backed unions representing laid off staff at Bethesda, ZeniMax, and Id have held rallies outside the studios' offices this week, while the names/titles of senior staff let go have begun to trickle out via WARN notices.