John Carmack Responds to id Software Layoffs, Says He Believes Reports That Minecraft Revenues ‘Have Been Carrying Several Other Studios’ at Xbox

Carmack, who co-founded id Software in 1991 alongside John Romero, Tom Hall, and Adrian Carmack, took to social media to express his belief that the company was a “marginal business” for Microsoft, and that he couldn’t see an obvious way for it to make more money from its games.

Here’s the statement in full:

I have been trying to find something meaningful to say about the Id Software layoffs.

My “Microsoft will probably be a good steward of the brand” statement isn’t aging well, and this is certainly going to dampen the mood of the founder reunion at QuakeCon next month.

I’m saddened, but I can’t muster anger or outrage over it. I don’t have access to the books, but I suspect that id Software was a marginal business from Microsoft’s perspective. I believe the reports that Minecraft revenues have been carrying several other studios.

To continue being produced long term, games need to succeed, not just be beloved.

Games are competing with every other option for spending your leisure time and money, and the competition is brutal.

You can’t rule out the possibility that executives are idiots, but that shouldn’t be your default belief. I don’t think there is any obvious path that would have doubled the revenue from Id games.

Could they have gotten more with a different pricing strategy?

Could they have created more things for fans to buy?

Could they have cost effectively marketed in a way that reached more players that would have loved and bought the games?

Could they have changed the game designs and broadened the appeal to more players without alienating existing ones?

Could they have produced the games at a lower cost, faster or cheaper?

I really don’t know.

The game isn’t over yet, and I hope the studio rallies through.

Xbox Games Series Tier List

Xbox Games Series Tier List

There’s a fair bit to unpack here. Let’s start with Carmack’s suggestion that id Software was a “marginal business” for Microsoft. Given Microsoft brought in $281.72 billion in revenue during its last financial year, then yes, id Software is little more than a rounding error, if you want to look at the studio from such a high level perspective. I imagine most Xbox studios are the same.

Compared to some other Xbox studios, though, id Software was prolific. 2016’s Doom reboot was a blast. Yes, 2019’s Rage 2 struggled, but 2020’s Doom Eternal, released just a year later, brought fans back onside. 2022’s Quake Champions has always been a bit of an odd release, but again, last year’s Doom: The Dark Ages was great fun. These Doom games didn’t sell at Call of Duty levels, but they made their mark.

Then there’s Carmack’s “I believe the reports that Minecraft revenues have been carrying several other studios,” line. This comes from a recent Bloomberg article on the goings on at Xbox amid its “reset” plan. Here’s the relevant section:

Going forward, Xbox plans to take a more streamlined approach to games and studios, rather than the bigger-is-better approach. The company will focus more on franchises like Minecraft, from studio Mojang, which had previously operated more or less independently. Profits from Minecraft, considered one of the most successful video games in the world, were used to fund the rest of the gaming portfolio, according to the person familiar with Xbox operations.

Did Minecraft essentially prop up Xbox studios like id Software? If it did, that’s not as surprising as it sounds. Many big entertainment companies work in much the same way, with one or two megahits helping to keep the bigger picture lights on. These massive money makers fuel risk taking, experimentation, and reboots of legacy first-person shooters. At least, they did.

Then there’s perhaps the most cutting line in Carmack’s statement: “To continue being produced long term, games need to succeed, not just be beloved.” Here he’s simply saying that id’s recent output — let’s say from 2016’s Doom reboot up to this month’s Dark Ages DLC — hasn’t been successful. I assume Carmack equates success to revenue here. That is, he’s saying that while people loved the Doom games, not enough people bought them. Ergo, layoffs in 2026.

Microsoft doesn’t make sales numbers for its games public, nor does it reveal studio revenue figures, so we don’t know what financial state id was in going into this year. According to GamesBeat, id was formulating new game ideas, such as a John Wick-style original IP, a new Perfect Dark game, and a multiplayer / co-op Doom game. Perhaps its biggest mistake was not having a new game ready to roll even before The Dark Ages came out. Whatever the truth, id’s future is now unclear. Some even worry the legendary shooter studio could be relegated to support status.

Earlier this week, John Romero took to social media to offer affected id Software staff his support, and to call on the studio’s recent legacy to be preserved.

“Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today’s industry,” he said. “The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people.”

Photographer: Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.