id Software's lead programmer says morale has never been lower following Microsoft's layoffs
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Chris Hays, a veteran programmer at id Software who remains listed as lead software programmer at the studio, has spoken candidly about the toll Xbox's recent layoffs have taken on the team, describing the cuts as "inhumane" and warning that morale is at an all-time low. He also used the opportunity to criticise gaming executives across the industry, arguing they are fundamentally disconnected from what it actually takes to make a good game.
The details:
id Software lost at least 136 employees in Xbox's mass layoffs, with many of those affected coming from the id Tech team. The studio later issued a statement saying it retained the people it needed to build the games it's known for, and that the team was roughly the same size as when it made DOOM in 2016.
Hays, speaking on the Auf ein Bier YouTube channel, said: "It was so inhumane. It was demoralizing, and morale has never been lower." He commended those who were cut for handling the situation with grace and continuing to support their former colleagues.
On executives, Hays was blunt: "I think that even in companies that are exclusively making games, especially the larger publishers at the top, I think they fundamentally don't understand what makes the business. They may understand the numbers for marketing and for sales, but the actual reality of what makes a good game a good game, how it gets done, they're so disconnected from that they don't understand what it takes to build a team, what it takes to maintain a team. Failures are important, too."
The comments come amid a broader wave of Xbox cuts across its studios portfolio, with Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, Compulsion, and Double Fine all affected in recent months. id Software has been among the hardest hit.
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