July 7, 2026
Rip and tear... the payroll?
Microsoft Fire IdTech Team at Id Software
Fans are mourning DOOM while others rage that Microsoft is gutting gaming history
TLDR: Microsoft’s sweeping Xbox layoffs reportedly hit the team behind id Software’s famous game-making tech, and fans are reacting like gaming history is being dismantled in real time. The comments swing from heartbreak over DOOM to anger that giant companies keep buying studios only to cut them later.
The gaming crowd is reacting like a beloved monster just got chainsawed in reverse. Reports say Microsoft’s huge Xbox layoffs may have wiped out most or even all of the team behind idTech, the long-running technology used by id Software, the studio behind DOOM. For non-gamers: this isn’t just one game company having a bad week. To many players, this is like hearing the engine room of a legendary movie studio has been shut down. And yes, the comments are all feelings, panic, and side-eye.
The loudest reaction is pure heartbreak. “Really a sad day. DOOM was fantastic,” wrote one commenter, while another dropped the ultimate old-school gamer salute: “q3dm17 for life,” a nostalgic shoutout to a famous Quake 3 map. But the doom-posting escalated fast: “No more DOOM games (((” captured the vibe of fans already acting like the funeral music has started. Whether that fear is fully confirmed or not, the community mood is very much RIP to a gaming legend.
Then came the angry business takes. One commenter demanded to know why Microsoft wouldn’t just sell studios instead of swallowing and cutting them, turning the thread into a mini anti-monopoly rally. Another ominously posted, “Next: Blizzard,” which reads less like a prediction and more like a warning shot. So the drama now has two layers: grief over a legendary game maker, and a bigger fight over whether giant platform owners should be allowed to buy creative studios at all.
Key Points
- •The article reports that most, if not all, developers working on idTech at id Software were fired.
- •It says the cuts are part of broader layoffs across Xbox divisions.
- •A companywide email quoted in the article says Xbox plans to reduce its team by about 3,200 during FY27.
- •The same email says about 1,600 role eliminations were happening immediately and that four studios would move to new management.
- •The article cites follow-up posts from Scott Miller and Michael Maynard as additional details on the layoffs' impact at id Software.