Id Software's Co-Founder John Carmack Addressed Its Massive Layoffs
"To continue being produced long term, games need to succeed, not just be beloved."
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The last couple of weeks were tough for the game development industry, with Microsoft cutting expenses drastically: 3,200 employees within Xbox have been laid off, and id Software, the legendary creators of Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein, lost about half of its workforce.
John Carmack, one of the studio's founders, addressed the tragic situation, saying he's "saddened" but "can’t muster anger or outrage over it."
"I suspect that Id Software was a marginal business from Microsoft’s perspective. I believe the reports that Minecraft revenues have been carrying several other studios.
"To continue being produced long term, games need to succeed, not just be beloved."
He added that the competition for players' time and money is "brutal," so companies have to think about performance.
"You can’t rule out the possibility that executives are idiots, but that shouldn’t be your default belief. I don’t think there is any obvious path that would have doubled the revenue from Id games."
He can't tell what and who is to blame, but "the game isn’t over yet, and I hope the studio rallies through."
Earlier, John Romero, another id Software co-founder, expressed his condolences over the layoffs, sharing that he knows what it feels like "to leave id while id goes on."
"The people at id have done a great job moving that legacy forward. DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today’s industry. The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people."
He has preserved the studio's early history in materials and assets and hopes someone is doing the same for it now.
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