id Software Dev Blasts Microsoft Leadership Over 'Short-Sighted' Layoffs
An id Software developer has publicly criticized Microsoft leadership following the recent layoffs at the studio. Chris Hays, a lead services programmer who has worked at id Software for over 15 years, stated that corporate leadership 'fundamentally don't understand art. They don't understand games. They don't understand that business model.'
The criticism comes after a restructuring eliminated 136 employees at id Software, nearly half the studio's workforce. This includes key engine specialists who work on the proprietary id Tech engine.
Hays emphasized that modern game development requires far more complex pipelines than projects built a decade ago. He warned that losing these specialized teams harms future development and makes it difficult to create large-scale games.