John Carmack has chimed in on the recent layoffs at XBOX, which have severely impacted id Software.
Carmack was part of the supergroup at id that innovated in terms of games (Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein) and technology (ray casting, MegaTexture). He left id after 24 years to work on Oculus, and recently moved on to his own AI company, Keen Technologies.
Carmack said this on Twitter:
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.
One can’t say that Carmack doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He was with id Software through its highs and lows, and had a messy separation with id itself, because of their parent company Zenimax.
id’s latest game, Doom: The Dark Ages, reached 3 million players in its first week including Game Pass players. That was the biggest launch in id’s history, but that may no longer be enough in the age of Minecraft and Fortnite.
