id Software Dev Says Studio Morale at All-Time Low
▼ Summary
– id Software lead programmer Chris Hays criticized industry executives as disconnected from game development realities, citing layoffs that cut at least 136 staff, many from the id Tech team.
– Hays said morale at id Software had “never been lower” after the layoffs, calling the process “inhumane” and “demoralizing.”
– He praised affected employees for handling the layoffs with grace and continuing to support team completion of their work.
– Hays argued that executives, especially at large publishers, understand marketing and sales numbers but not what makes a good game or how to build and maintain a team.
– The article notes id Software’s statement that the post-layoff team size was similar to the one that developed DOOM in 2016.
When Microsoft’s sweeping layoffs hit the gaming sector, id Software, the studio behind DOOM, took a significant blow. At least 136 employees were let go, with many reports indicating the cuts landed squarely on the id Tech engineering team. The company later reassured fans that it retained the staffing levels needed to produce its signature titles, comparing the current headcount to the team size during DOOM’s 2016 reboot. But behind that public-facing optimism, the internal reality tells a different story.
Chris Hays, a longtime id Software programmer who still lists himself as lead software programmer on LinkedIn, has now spoken out about the aftermath. In a candid interview on the Auf ein Bier YouTube channel, Hays described the atmosphere inside the studio as dire. He acknowledged that the team had long suspected layoffs were on the horizon, but the execution still landed hard. Despite the blow, he praised his former colleagues for handling the situation with professionalism and continuing to push projects forward under difficult circumstances.
“It was so inhumane. It was demoralizing, and morale has never been lower,” Hays said.
Beyond the immediate pain of the job cuts, Hays turned his attention to the broader industry, leveling sharp criticism at the executives who steer the largest publishers. His argument is that leadership often excels at reading spreadsheets but fails to grasp the craft behind the product. He suggested that even companies built entirely around game development have leadership tiers that are dangerously out of touch with the creative process.
“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,” he stated.
His comments arrive at a time when studio morale across the industry is fragile. Layoffs have become routine news, and developers are increasingly vocal about the disconnect between corporate decision-making and day-to-day production realities. Hays’ perspective adds a veteran voice to that growing chorus, one that carries weight given his long tenure at a studio known for technical excellence.
What do you make of Hays’ remarks? Join the conversation in our official Discord server to share your take. For those hungry for more DOOM content, keep an eye on the upcoming DOOM collection, which is set to arrive on Evercade platforms with a brand-new cartridge. And if you want stories like this delivered to your inbox, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
(Source: Insider-gaming.com)
