id Software developer says AAA game production is 'impossible' after Microsoft cuts half the studio

Chris Hayes, lead services provider at id Software, told the Well Played podcast that making triple-A games like Doom is "impossible" with half the staff. A Texas WARN notice confirmed 136 developers cut from id — roughly half the studio — among 3,200 Xbox division layoffs in 2026. Hayes rejected Microsoft's reassurances that id remained unchanged.