{"id":2052481,"date":"2026-07-20T15:47:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2052481"},"modified":"2026-07-20T15:47:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:47:48","slug":"after-doom-director-hugo-martin-denied-reports-that-id-software-had-been-gutted-current-and-former-employees-are-disagreeing-with-his-optimism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2052481","title":{"rendered":"After Doom director Hugo Martin denied reports that id Software had been gutted, &#8220;current and former employees&#8221; are disagreeing with his optimism"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">After Doom director Hugo Martin denied reports that id Software had been gutted, &#8220;current and former employees&#8221; are disagreeing with his optimism<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t agree with Hugo&#8217;s statement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/doom_image.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Doom 2016 - Cyberdemon\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"doom_image.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Bethesda Softworks<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-07-20T15:47:48+00:00\">July 20, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/id-software-developers-comments-hugo-martin-layoffs?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          3 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"a94a0135-5e03-4306-9cfb-3f59f6076d89\" data-name=\"DOOM (2016)\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Doom (2016)\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Doom (2016)\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Doom (2016)\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Doom (2016)\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Doom (2016)\" title=\"Follow Doom (2016)\"><br \/>\n  Follow Doom (2016)<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>It&#8217;s been two weeks since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">Microsoft announced 3,200 layoffs and sweeping cuts hit the Xbox division<\/a>. Not even well-established institutions like Doom and Quake studio id Software were safe &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-layoffs-july-2026-id-software\">with the first reports painting a very bleak picture<\/a> &#8211; yet Hugo Martin, director on the latest Doom entries, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/id-software-xbox-cuts-doom\">pushed back<\/a> against claims the iconic FPS developer had been turned into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-quake-studio-id-software-gutted-xbox-cuts-game-ideas\">little more than a support studio<\/a>. A few days later, &#8220;current and former employees&#8221; are saying they aren&#8217;t as optimistic as Martin.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamedeveloper.com\/production\/two-thirds-of-doom-2016-development-team-laid-off-during-latest-round-of-xbox-cuts\">Game Developer<\/a> shared a story that directly answers Martin&#8217;s words in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XDHo1QYYElg\">a recent livestream<\/a>. Senior editor Chris Kerr wrote &#8220;multiple anonymous sources told Game Developer that around two thirds of those left at id Software who worked on Doom (2016) were laid off at the beginning of the month&#8221;, including developers that were integral to the veteran team.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations - Official DLC Overview Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T1klRWVgGqA?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/T1klRWVgGqA\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations &#8211; Official DLC Overview Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations &#8211; Official DLC Overview Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T1klRWVgGqA\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More specifically, some of those developers directly expressed disappointment after hearing Martin&#8217;s comments: &#8220;I don&#8217;t agree with Hugo&#8217;s statement and many who were laid off were upset by those comments and saw it as viewing their contributions as insignificant to the success of our games. I&#8217;ve been a gamer my whole life. If you cut a stat in half everyone would call that nerfed. In truth the Doom team is half here, half thrown away,&#8221; one of the site&#8217;s sources said.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>They also went on to note Doom 4 &#8211; a game that was ultimately cancelled &#8211; was such a disaster that it almost killed the studio. Doom 2016 was eventually born out of the ashes of that title, but &#8220;it took about seven years and an absurd amount of crunch to finish&#8221;. According to the sources, individuals that put in &#8220;an unsafe number of hours to make that happen&#8221; were laid off earlier this month, too.<\/p>\n<p>Another source pointed out Martin&#8217;s assessment of the post-layoffs studio size is only accurate because &#8220;there was a &#8216;massive turnover and exodus&#8217; at id Software from 2010 to 2011&#8221;, which supposedly left the studio in a terrible spot. Later, hiring ramped up and external studios were brought in to help with the final push. It&#8217;s easy to see how a severely trimmed-down id Software might be in a tough spot (again) to create another triple-A shooter on its own under Microsoft&#8217;s current expectations.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-the-dark-ages-revelations-spear-reactions\">Doom: The Dark Ages received its expansion-sized Revelations DLC<\/a>, and while id Software&#8217;s future is currently unclear, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/zenimax-bethesda-new-plans-include-more-fallout-elder-scrolls-quake\">Xbox leadership is reportedly very interested in more Doom and Quake games<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>It&#8217;s been two weeks since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">Microsoft announced 3,200 layoffs and sweeping cuts hit the Xbox division<\/a>. Not even well-established institutions like Doom and Quake studio id Software were safe &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-layoffs-july-2026-id-software\">with the first reports painting a very bleak picture<\/a> &#8211; yet Hugo Martin, director on the latest Doom entries, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/id-software-xbox-cuts-doom\">pushed back<\/a> against claims the iconic FPS developer had been turned into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-quake-studio-id-software-gutted-xbox-cuts-game-ideas\">little more than a support studio<\/a>. A few days later, &#8220;current and former employees&#8221; are saying they aren&#8217;t as optimistic as Martin.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamedeveloper.com\/production\/two-thirds-of-doom-2016-development-team-laid-off-during-latest-round-of-xbox-cuts\">Game Developer<\/a> shared a story that directly answers Martin&#8217;s words in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XDHo1QYYElg\">a recent livestream<\/a>. Senior editor Chris Kerr wrote &#8220;multiple anonymous sources told Game Developer that around two thirds of those left at id Software who worked on Doom (2016) were laid off at the beginning of the month&#8221;, including developers that were integral to the veteran team.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations - Official DLC Overview Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T1klRWVgGqA?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/T1klRWVgGqA\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations &#8211; Official DLC Overview Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations &#8211; Official DLC Overview Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T1klRWVgGqA\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More specifically, some of those developers directly expressed disappointment after hearing Martin&#8217;s comments: &#8220;I don&#8217;t agree with Hugo&#8217;s statement and many who were laid off were upset by those comments and saw it as viewing their contributions as insignificant to the success of our games. I&#8217;ve been a gamer my whole life. If you cut a stat in half everyone would call that nerfed. In truth the Doom team is half here, half thrown away,&#8221; one of the site&#8217;s sources said.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>They also went on to note Doom 4 &#8211; a game that was ultimately cancelled &#8211; was such a disaster that it almost killed the studio. Doom 2016 was eventually born out of the ashes of that title, but &#8220;it took about seven years and an absurd amount of crunch to finish&#8221;. According to the sources, individuals that put in &#8220;an unsafe number of hours to make that happen&#8221; were laid off earlier this month, too.<\/p>\n<p>Another source pointed out Martin&#8217;s assessment of the post-layoffs studio size is only accurate because &#8220;there was a &#8216;massive turnover and exodus&#8217; at id Software from 2010 to 2011&#8221;, which supposedly left the studio in a terrible spot. Later, hiring ramped up and external studios were brought in to help with the final push. It&#8217;s easy to see how a severely trimmed-down id Software might be in a tough spot (again) to create another triple-A shooter on its own under Microsoft&#8217;s current expectations.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-the-dark-ages-revelations-spear-reactions\">Doom: The Dark Ages received its expansion-sized Revelations DLC<\/a>, and while id Software&#8217;s future is currently unclear, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/zenimax-bethesda-new-plans-include-more-fallout-elder-scrolls-quake\">Xbox leadership is reportedly very interested in more Doom and Quake games<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News After Doom director Hugo Martin denied reports that id Software had been gutted, &#8220;current and former employees&#8221; are disagreeing with his optimism &#8220;I don&#8217;t agree with Hugo&#8217;s statement.&#8221; Image credit: Bethesda Softworks News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on July 20, 2026 3 comments Follow Doom (2016) It&#8217;s been two weeks since Microsoft [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2052481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2052481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052481\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2052481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2052481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2052481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}