An unknown number of id Software employees have been laid off.
It’s safe to say that Rage wasn’t id Software’s finest moment. It’s apparently not a bad game but neither is it particularly good [I haven’t played it myself, so I’m in no position to render judgment], and even though Bethesda insists that it’s all perfectly normal, that might just have something to do with the fact that the studio suffered an unknown number of layoffs today.
Word of the layoffs first came via the Twitter account of 3D artist Adam Bromell, who wrote, “Some layoffs at id Software today, perhaps more to come later.” Bromell didn’t mention where his information came from but Bethesda Softworks, whose parent company ZeniMax Media acquired id in 2009, soon confirmed the cuts with Joystiq.
“As part of its standard business practice, id regularly evaluates staffing to ensure it has a workforce that meets the needs of the studio,” it said in a statement. “As part of that process, some id employees were recently let go.”
Rather oddly, perhaps, the id Software website is still sporting a “we’re hiring” banner and Bethesda said that it is “still recruiting and hiring qualified developers” for the studio. The company also stated that development on new id games, which I take to mean Doom 4, “continues unabated.”
Whatever the reason, it’s always unfortunate to see game devs put out of work, and while this is clearly my own deeply biased opinion, it’s also a little sad to see id, which 20 years ago gave the world Doom with less than a dozen guys, fall victim to the vagaries of the modern game industry. Best of luck to everyone affected by the cuts.
