Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says id Software is “already working on its next game”, and the studio has since confirmed it. In id Software’s reply, the project comes from its teams in Texas and Frankfurt, directed by Hugo Martin. The news arrived as Sharma posted on X to mark the looming 25th anniversary of the original Xbox console.
The studio’s reply on X was short on detail and long on expectation management.
Video Games Chronicle reports that id added it will be “some time” before it’s ready to share more, which suggests the game is at an early stage. No title, genre, setting or release window has been given, and id hasn’t said whether it’s a new Doom entry. The Verge’s Tom Warren is more definite. As quoted by Nintendo Life, he says he reported in July that id was in the early stages of a new Doom game, and that it’s now confirmed. That’s Warren’s reading, not id’s wording.
A statement of intent after the cuts
The timing is hard to miss. id Software was among the studios hit hardest by Xbox’s July layoffs: VGC puts the toll at 136 jobs, and a former developer claimed the studio had been “relegated to support studio size”. The studio’s own response in July was that it still had the crew to build its games and tech. Doom veterans were blunter about Xbox at the time. Announcing a project before there’s anything to show is one way to answer that, and VGC says Xbox seems eager to dispel the support-studio claim.
The announcement also tells us what id’s smaller team will work on. According to VGC, Martin has been at id since 2013. He was creative director on Doom (2016) and Doom: Eternal and game director on Doom: The Dark Ages, so the studio is keeping its core creative lead. What’s less clear is the rest of its plans. id had reportedly pitched a new Perfect Dark before the cuts, and nothing in Thursday’s posts says whether that or other side projects survived.
The people who left
The same day, a group of former id staff made an announcement of their own. VGC reports that Hidden Horses is an employee-owned studio of more than 20 former id developers. It’s turning to Kickstarter for its first game, a single-player FPS called Danger Pay set in a deadly game show. That’s a separate company with no link to id’s new project, but it shows where some of the laid-off talent ended up as Xbox’s cuts spread to other studios, including Halo Studios.
For players, there’s nothing to do but wait. Sharma’s post says Slaughter Mode arrives in the Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations expansion on Monday. Revelations is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PC and PS5. That’s the only new id content on the calendar for now.
What do we know about id Software’s new game?
Only the basics: it’s a new game from id’s teams in Texas and Frankfurt, with Hugo Martin directing again. There’s no title, genre, platform list or release window, and id says it will be some time before it shares more.
Is it a new Doom?
Not officially. Tom Warren of The Verge says it’s a new Doom, but id hasn’t named the franchise. Martin’s involvement makes Doom a reasonable guess, though that remains a guess until id says so.
Can I play id’s latest game in the UAE now?
Doom: The Dark Ages is out on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and the Revelations expansion is on the same platforms. We haven’t seen any region restrictions reported for UAE players.
