Updated
Updated · Video Games Chronicle · Jul 10
John Carmack Regrets Microsoft Remark After 136 Id Software Layoffs
Updated
Updated · Video Games Chronicle · Jul 10

John Carmack Regrets Microsoft Remark After 136 Id Software Layoffs

1 articles · Updated · Video Games Chronicle · Jul 10

Summary

  • John Carmack said his past view that Microsoft would be a good steward of Id Software "isn't aging well" after 136 jobs were cut at the Doom and Quake studio.
  • A Texas WARN notice showed 96 layoffs in Richardson and 40 remote cuts, part of Xbox's broader business reset affecting Microsoft game studios.
  • Carmack said he was saddened but not outraged, arguing he lacks access to Id's finances and suspects the studio was only a marginal business for Microsoft.
  • He added that beloved games still must generate stronger sales in a brutal entertainment market, and said he lacks both the money and desire to buy back Id or lead it again.

Insights

With 70% of its developers laid off, is the legendary Doom and Quake studio effectively dead?
Can a new CEO's drastic 'reset' save Microsoft's unprofitable Xbox division from its own hardware crisis?