id Software Reportedly Considering Total Darkness, John Wick-Style Shooter And More Doom Ahead Of Xbox Layoffs – WGB
id Software is reportedly considering a number of projects before the Xbox layoff destroys the legendary Doom studio, including an original John Wick-style IP, a new Perfect Dark game, a Western robot survival game, and a possible Doom sequel.
The details come via a new GamesBeat report from Dean Takahashi, which adds more context to id Software’s recent layoffs. I have already filed the job losses myself, including the Texas WARN documents that seem to put the number at 136 people. GamesBeat’s own number is a bit lower, saying at least 92 of its 185 full-time employees have been cut, but the report is broadly in line with what’s been circulating: id Software has been hit incredibly hard.
But buried within the report is something very interesting: what id Software might have been running before the ax fell.
According to GamesBeat, one of the projects being discussed was an original IP called Fury. The game was reportedly pitched by Doom game director and studio director Hugo Martin, and was described as having sci-fi, noir, Louisiana and Chicago gangster influences, as well as a modern cyberpunk feel. It also apparently had a “Gun Fu” concept, which combines gunplay and martial arts, with the report comparing the intended vibe to a John Wick movie.
That sounds pretty interesting, though GamesBeat says Fury hasn’t been officially greenlit for production yet. Regardless, it sounds like one hell of a combination of tones and ideas.
Another possible project is a new Perfect Dark game. That’s especially interesting since Microsoft recently shut down The Initiative, the Xbox studio that’s been working on a Total Black reboot for years. According to GamesBeat, id Software was considering a franchise because it could tap into Microsoft-owned IP that could be worked on elsewhere.
The report also mentions a project called Ironwood, which is described as a Western-style robot game focused on survival, apparently similar to the world of Westworld.
And then, of course, there was Doom. GamesBeat claims id been considering a number of Doom-related ideas, including multiplayer, co-op, additional DLC, and bringing back classic weapons from Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal. That last part is particularly noteworthy because Doom: The Dark Ages made some big changes to the Slayer’s archetype and overall rhythm, so the idea of folding old weapons back into the mix would have been an interesting way to tie the new game in with the previous two entries.
One of the worst parts of the report is the suggestion that ID Software may not have clearly known what Microsoft wanted from it. GamesBeat says the former head of the studio was confused as to whether Xbox’s goal was for Game Pass subscribers, engagement time, standalone sales, revenue, profit, or the platform’s high-profile technical displays.
That’s important because, if id had known that the target was revenue and profit, the studio might have been aiming for something completely different. Based on what Gamesbeat was told, they’d be leaning more towards live, multiplayer, co-op, or repeatable content than continuing to build Doom’s soft, single-player campaigns every few years. Instead, the studio appears to have been judged for a business model that may have been clearly ill-advised.
A GamesBeat report suggests that id Software was at risk because it was in the middle of a big project, having just shipped Doom: The Dark Ages and its Revelations DLC. The studio had options on the table, but nothing seemed to be firmly locked in for the next game. With the layoffs reportedly hitting departments including design, supply, level design, combat design, natural art, AI programming, and id Tech’s engine team, the obvious question is what id Software can do now.
That’s the really sad part of all of this. If GamesBeat’s reporting is accurate, id Software is not dead. It explored new ideas, strange ideas, ambitious ideas. A John Wick-style gun-fu game from Team Doom? A Westworld-esque robot survival game? Id take a crack at Perfect Dark? More Doom trial content?
Instead, the future of one of the most important studios in video game history now looks deeply uncertain. Maybe id Software will continue to make Doom. Maybe it will be rebuilt. Perhaps some of these concepts will reappear in another form. But right now, it sounds like the Xbox may have killed off not just half of the studio, but the entire slate of potentially interesting games.
