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Doom’s new expansion shows just what makes id Software special
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Doom’s new expansion shows just what makes id Software special
Nobody makes games like id.
Nobody makes games like id.
by Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Senior Reporter
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Follow See All by Jay Peters
Jul 10, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC
Image: Bethesda Softworks
Part Of Xbox’s ‘reset’: all the news about Microsoft’s layoffs and studio changes see all updates
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
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Follow See All by Jay Peters
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
This week should have been a celebration for Doom developer id Software. The studio just launched Revelations, a meaty expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages that adds a powerful new weapon and more demonic levels to blast through. Even though I hadn’t picked up The Dark Ages for more than a year, it only took moments before I fell right back into the familiar loop from id’s modern Doom games. Each plays differently, but they all have a similar foundation built around fast-paced shooter action that makes them feel iconically Doom — and unlike pretty much anything else.
But instead the launch has been overshadowed. As part of Xbox’s mass layoffs and strategy “reset,” id was gutted. The specific figures vary, but reports all paint a grim picture. GamesBeatreports that “at least” 92 of the 185 full-time id employees, or about 50 percent of the studio, were laid off. Game Developer obtained a Texas WARN notice saying that 96 employees were cut from id’s Richardson, Texas, office, and 40 remote workers reporting to that location were laid off, too. Sources speaking to Kotaku believe that the team working on the studio’s proprietary id Tech game engine has just one employee left.
Whichever way you count it, it appears the id of today is a shell of the studio that it was at the beginning of the week. And just as that is happening, Revelations shows exactly what made the studio special.
Image: Bethesda Softworks
The Dark Agesexpanded the Doom formula, especially with a new shield that doubled as a throwable buzzsaw, but in the process added some unnecessary features.
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