“Most, if not all,” of Id Software’s coders, 60-70 Obsidian developers, and more veteran developers have reportedly been laid off from Microsoft as the scale of this week’s big Xbox cuts becomes clearer.
On Monday, Microsoft announced a restructuring that will result in thousands of people losing their jobs. While initial headlines were focused on the sale of Undead Labs [38 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/undead-labs/”>Undead Labs and Ninja Theory [139 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/ninja-theory/”>Ninja Theory, and Double Fine [111 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/double-fine/”>Double Fine and Compulsion Games [44 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/compulsion-games/”>Compulsion Games regaining independence, the scale of Xbox [11,342 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/platforms/xbox/”>Xbox‘s significant wave of job losses is still taking shape.
According to Kotaku, around 60-70 developers were fired from Obsidian, which included “producers, artists, designers, programmers, QA testers, and writers.”
The Outer Worlds [132 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/the-outer-worlds/”>The Outer Worlds art director Daniel Alpert [45 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/daniel-alpert/”>Daniel Alpert, who served at the studio for over two decades, took to LinkedIn to confirm he’s part of the cuts.
“This morning, after 21 years at Obsidian Entertainment [237 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/obsidian-entertainment/”>Obsidian Entertainment, my journey with the studio came to an end,” he wrote.
“While this wasn’t the outcome I hoped for, I can’t help but feel incredibly grateful for the time I spent there. Obsidian wasn’t just a workplace, it was where I built a career, formed lasting friendships, and had the opportunity to work alongside some of the most talented and passionate people in the industry.”
A. K. Fedeau, a narrative designer at the studio, also confirmed they had been affected. “I’m very sorry to announce that I was one of the devs affected by the Obsidian layoffs today,” they wrote on LinkedIn.
“Being able to write for the studio whose work pulled me out of a dark place with my writing and reminded me of why I loved it was a beautiful dream. It took me places I’d never imagined, and some I had, in the small, ambitious way a child watches credits roll and swears to someday be up there.”
‘Most, if not all, id Software [174 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/zenimax-media/id-software/”>Id Software coders cut’
Elsewhere, it’s been claimed by 3D Realms Founder Scott Miller that “most, if not all,” of Id Software’s coders have been let go.
This claim comes as Xbox Game Studios (Microsoft) [3,912 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/”>Microsoft plans to restructure Bethesda Softworks [907 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/zenimax-media/bethesda-softworks/”>Bethesda around the studio’s “strongest franchises.”
This post was about the insider news I got this morning that a majority of Id’s studio is being laid off, including most (if not all) coders. https://t.co/OcPrLgvYBG
— Scott Miller – Apogee/3D Realms Founder ☢️ (@ScottApogee) July 6, 2026
According to Bloomberg, Bethesda plans to focus on its biggest franchises: Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein.
Jeff Gardiner, a former project lead at Bethesda Game Studios, took to social media to claim that he’d heard 95 developers had lost their jobs at Id.
This week, Bethesda and Id Software will release Doom: The Dark Ages [42 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/doom-the-dark-ages/”>Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations, an expansion to 2025’s Doom: The Dark Ages.
