Shooter from DOOM Creator Might Still See the Light of Day — John Romero Is Looking for a New Publisher

This year, the video game industry was shaken by a massive wave of layoffs at Microsoft. Even internal Xbox studios were affected — The Initiative was completely shut down, while ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer behind The Elder Scrolls Online, lost nearly half its staff and canceled its next major project.

However, the cuts didn’t only hit internal teams. Microsoft’s financial restructuring also affected Romero Games, the studio founded by John Romero, one of the creators of Doom. The developer’s next major project was being funded by Microsoft, but the publisher abruptly withdrew its support despite having one of its most successful financial years. As a result, most of Romero Games’ staff were laid off.

In an interview with GameReactor, John Romero explained that he isn’t giving up and still intends to complete his new shooter:

According to the developer, the game was about halfway through development when Microsoft pulled the plug. However, the studio has retained all assets and progress, meaning that even if the original version doesn’t get made, they could rework the materials into a smaller-scale project.

As of now, Romero Games remains an active studio, with part of the team continuing to work on the project. However, without Microsoft’s funding, most developers are still out of the company, and it’s unclear whether they’ll return if new investment is secured.

Little is known about the game itself — it’s being developed on Unreal Engine 5 as a first-person shooter for PC and consoles.

Meanwhile, new details have emerged about the upcoming DLC for Doom: The Dark Ages, with id Software sharing fresh story and gameplay information.