id Software Confirms Layoffs, Development Continues

Bethesda Softworks has confirmed surfacing reports about layoffs at id Software, but I don’t have details on whether the layoffs were across the board, Rage-specific or pulled from the Doom 4 team.

“As part of its standard business practice, id regularly evaluates staffing to ensure it has a workforce that meets the needs of the studio,” said VP of marketing and PR Pete Hines in an email.

“As part of that process, some id employees were recently let go, he continued. “id is still recruiting and hiring qualified developers, and development work on future id titles continues unabated.”

The release of a new game from id Software is always an event, but the response to Rage was a bit muted, especially in light of the monumental impact Bethseda’s own The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim had a few months later.

id Software was independent until 2009, when ZeniMax Media, who also owns Bethesda, picked it up.

id Software has talked about Doom 4 for years now, while the game remains shrouded in secrecy. John Carmack has talked about sequels to Rage, as well, but it’s unclear if those will ever go forward.

Sorry to hear that.

So are they not sacking actual long time employees but just the typical short term contractors they bring on to finish projects. Doesn't this same thing happen all the time?

Well when you take 6 years to develop a game that did not sell, these things happen. But still, it is a shame nonetheless.

Damn that sucks. I still think of them as that tiny company from way back when.

The reason the response to Rage was a bit muted is because Rage is not a very good game.

@Saga said:

The reason the response to Rage was a bit muted is because Rage is not a very good game.

True dat.

Everyday I go to my local Best Buy I see stacks of Rage. No one even bought that game during Boxing Day at my local stores except me. It's not a horrible game but for how long it took to produce I don't know what the fuck they were doing.

Longtime id software fan here. Sorry to see this happen, but ...

There were some fundamental ways Rage could have been improved, and possibly been a much more well-received game. The scope of the game simply wasn't big enough for the conceptual canvas it hinted at. By the same token, the design of the game felt limited despite how ambitious the graphic engine made everything look. There was a constant disparity in what it seemed like you should be able to do and what you were actually able to do.

That and the ending was abysmal.

Here's hoping this doesn't hinder Doom 4's development, but I think it's inevitable.

Terrible when people lose their jobs.

While they have solved most problems for PC. I'm still waiting for my high-resolution pack.

I very much enjoyed Rage, the basic FPS elements were excellent but the world was pretty lacking. That said the horrendous state of the PC version was treason!

Rage got cheap frighteningly quick. Hope all those duders laid off find work soon.

Rage didn't do so hot anyway. Its $30 already, and saw no recognition at any GOTY awards.

They fucked up big time on rage. I was very excited for it, but the moment I heard about the state of the PC version I knew I wasn't going to get it.

My god I'd rather have doom 4 than any other product related to RAGE.

Quake 3 Arena 2

@ShaneDev said:

So are they not sacking actual long time employees but just the typical short term contractors they bring on to finish projects. Doesn't this same thing happen all the time?

Yeah, particularly after a big project like Rage.

My god I'd rather have doom 4 than any other product related to RAGE.

So is Rage getting a pc version?

(i know.... i know)

@MordeaniisChaos said:

@ShaneDev said:

So are they not sacking actual long time employees but just the typical short term contractors they bring on to finish projects. Doesn't this same thing happen all the time?

Yeah, particularly after a big project like Rage.

"Layoff" is rarely used in terms of a contract position. Typically a contractor has signed an agreement stating they are employed up until a certain date. I highly doubt these layoffs are in reference to Rage or Doom 4-specific contractors.

@Napalm said:

@MordeaniisChaos said:

@ShaneDev said:

So are they not sacking actual long time employees but just the typical short term contractors they bring on to finish projects. Doesn't this same thing happen all the time?

Yeah, particularly after a big project like Rage.

"Layoff" is rarely used in terms of a contract position. Typically a contractor has signed an agreement stating they are employed up until a certain date. I highly doubt these layoffs are in reference to Rage or Doom 4-specific contractors.

In gaming journalism it is frequently used to mean exactly that.

@ShaneDev said:

So are they not sacking actual long time employees but just the typical short term contractors they bring on to finish projects. Doesn't this same thing happen all the time?

Yes, that's probably what's happening though we have no way of knowing for sure. But as usual, some people are posting without even reading the article.

@Klei said:

While they have solved most problems for PC. I'm still waiting for my high-resolution pack.

Are you really?

@punkxblaze said:

My god I'd rather have doom 4 than any other product related to RAGE.

I don't see why as RAGE seems like a thoroughly more enjoyable experience than DOOM 3 ever was. Let me remind you that apart from monster closets in every single room - you were not allowed to hold a flash light AND shoot at the same time. Even at the highest brightness settings there were literally black areas impenetrable by any light source.

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

@Napalm said:

@MordeaniisChaos said:

@ShaneDev said:

So are they not sacking actual long time employees but just the typical short term contractors they bring on to finish projects. Doesn't this same thing happen all the time?

Yeah, particularly after a big project like Rage.

"Layoff" is rarely used in terms of a contract position. Typically a contractor has signed an agreement stating they are employed up until a certain date. I highly doubt these layoffs are in reference to Rage or Doom 4-specific contractors.

In gaming journalism it is frequently used to mean exactly that.

Doubtful.

Regardless, until we know where they exactly came from, it's hard to pinpoint the true meaning of the word in this instance. However, usually after a game doesn't do as well as a studio or publisher hoped, employed workers of a studio are let go.

@JohnPaulVann said:

Carmack should be the one getting fired for designing the horse shit technology that powers Rage. He is no longer a top talent. Fuck him and fuck id. Unless John Romero comes back I'm done with the company's games.

Wowzers. Way to be unnecessarily and childishly dramatic. Rage's technology, the 'megatextures', is still an impressive feat, considering almost no videogames run at 60 frames-per-second on consoles.

Carmack should be the one getting fired for designing the horse shit technology that powers Rage. He is no longer a top talent. Fuck him and fuck id. Unless John Romero comes back I'm done with the company's games.

@TheHBK said:

Quake 3 Arena 2

this.... i want quake 5 arena... i want them to take what they did in quake 3 and revolutionize competitive fps once again ... please id

Had a lot of fun with Rage personally, ending was horrible, but most are. Maybe not THAT horrible, but it's rare that I get to the ending of a game and feel satisfied by how it was wrapped up.

I believe people had a lot of preconceived notions when it came to Rage, and id/Bethesda didn't really make an effort to reign in those notions before launch, likely because they were hoping to increase sales on the idea of a new Fallout type game but from id Software. If you break down the components of Rage tho, the first person shooting, the racing, and missions, most of it is completely competent, and in a lot of cases very well done. You could argue that there should have been more of it, and it felt very much like a game that had more content but was chopped off at the end due to the development cycle and certain media limitations. id and Bethesda didn't do themselves any favors as far as franchising with the way they marketed the game either.

Personally, I would like to see more of the Rage mythology at some point. I don't know anything about how it did sales wise, but hopefully it did well enough that they might revisit that universe at some point.

@Humanity said:

@punkxblaze said:

My god I'd rather have doom 4 than any other product related to RAGE.

I don't see why as RAGE seems like a thoroughly more enjoyable experience than DOOM 3 ever was. Let me remind you that apart from monster closets in every single room - you were not allowed to hold a flash light AND shoot at the same time. Even at the highest brightness settings there were literally black areas impenetrable by any light source.

Because they've been teasing Doom 4 for years and haven't shown shit about it. Every Quake Con has been MAYBE NEXT YEAR GUYS HERE'S MORE ABOUT RAGE. That's why.

Got Rage on the Christmas Steam Sale. Woof. Played for about 3 hours and I'm not sure I will go back.

Sad to see the glory days of iD are basically over. They will always hold a special place in my heart.

id software should just stick on developing Quake & Doom series games, but a new Quake is really overdue now.

I was a huge fan of id games, I stood our the stores to pick up the latest games, but I still haven't picked up Rage. It's not at least interesting to me. They had a huge community going around Quake 3 Arena, and they still don't see it. Quake Live is still Quake 3 Arena and that's it, fans are waiting now 13 years for a proper continuation of Quake 3 Arena... makes you wonder what they are waiting for.

Even tho I'm pushing mid 30s now and I'm not 16 years old anymore, the day that another Quake games comes out, I'll be the first to download it through Steam or stand in line at a store. Just don't fuck it up, keep the balance in the 90's, don't push regenerative health on me and two weapon limit.

There better not be any fucking racing in Doom 4.

Id still make 1990s games, only with modern graphics. They are like a lot of Japanese developers who just stubbornly refuse to evolve their games to meet modern standards, and they are now rea

Id still make 1990s games, only with modern graphics. They are like a lot of Japanese developers who just stubbornly refuse to evolve their games to meet modern standards, and they are now rea

@Beb said:

Got Rage on the Christmas Steam Sale. Woof. Played for about 3 hours and I'm not sure I will go back.

Sad to see the glory days of iD are basically over. They will always hold a special place in my heart.

Hey, I'm just curious what aspects about it you liked least. I tried getting into it too, and I found that while technically it was nice and looked great, it bored me somehow. Which...is saying something because I enjoy simple shooters. But Rage just could not hold my interest at all.

It always sucks hearing that people are out of work in this shit economy. Especially when they do something that they love and are talented at.

That said however RAGE was a terrible game that I regret purchasing. Not terrible in gameplay, because it controlled fairly well for a consolified port, but rather it's optimization and the fact that an entire GPU platform was rendered completely impotent. I played it on an nVidia system and it ran fine. I played it on an AMD system and I wanted to run over John Carmack with that retarded Ferrari that he tuned.

And the fact that it took something like 6 years. For a game from a developer that basically fucking invented the entire goddamn genre and is known in the past for absolute quality. There's clearly a problem there.

At this point I hope they don't make a new Doom or Quake. And I mean that. If those two names get tarnished and fucking raped by the casual gaming "conventions" that have to exist in some form or another now for the countless swaths of idiots I'm done. I'll walk away. I'll resort to gambling and alcoholism if I must.

@Beb said:

Got Rage on the Christmas Steam Sale. Woof. Played for about 3 hours and I'm not sure I will go back.

Sad to see the glory days of iD are basically over. They will always hold a special place in my heart.

Hey, I'm just curious what aspects about it you liked least. I tried getting into it too, and I found that while technically it was nice and looked great, it bored me somehow. Which...is saying something because I enjoy simple shooters. But Rage just could not hold my interest at all.

@HyperionX3 said:

@Beb said:

Got Rage on the Christmas Steam Sale. Woof. Played for about 3 hours and I'm not sure I will go back.

Sad to see the glory days of iD are basically over. They will always hold a special place in my heart.

Hey, I'm just curious what aspects about it you liked least. I tried getting into it too, and I found that while technically it was nice and looked great, it bored me somehow. Which...is saying something because I enjoy simple shooters. But Rage just could not hold my interest at all.

I'm in the same boat.. only around an hour into it.  I just find it really pointless.  Fetch quests/go kill these guys and then come back!  Not to mention the shooting is boring as hell.  I get the 'interactive tech demo' feel while playing.

@HyperionX3 said:

@Beb said:

Got Rage on the Christmas Steam Sale. Woof. Played for about 3 hours and I'm not sure I will go back.

Sad to see the glory days of iD are basically over. They will always hold a special place in my heart.

Hey, I'm just curious what aspects about it you liked least. I tried getting into it too, and I found that while technically it was nice and looked great, it bored me somehow. Which...is saying something because I enjoy simple shooters. But Rage just could not hold my interest at all.

Because absolutely nothing in the world is dynamic. In development terms, everything is "baked" or "canned", no dynamic time of day, nothing in the world has weight or physics for that matter, so the world, while beautiful, doesn't feel believable or immersive. And as a result there is zero emergent gameplay or events, excluding little combat tactics, making the game super boring and dull.

Y'know it's kinda funny, I always cheer for id despite not being the least bit interested in anything they're doing, but the sad truth is that the industry is bloated and I just can't be bothered to feel bad for every developer that loses his job anymore - especially when it's the result of over-hyped, over-developed mediocrity.

Rage was easily my favourite shooter last year, hell it's one of my favourite FPS this gen. It wasn't perfect at all by any means and it was a bit of a strange mish mash of driving game and shooter but I loved, loved, loved the shooting in it. The guns felt fantastic, the enemy reactions/animations were excellent and I loved the whole arsenal of weapons at my disposal. Pop Rockets + Shotgun = Fucking Boss. I also loved the look to it, from a pure technical point of view the game was a bit muddy texture wise but from an overall view I loved the art style to it, it was like concept art in motion at times. Great game and as far as I'm concerned an overlooked gem. Really can't wait for whatever they put out next and good luck to the guys at id, hope you land on your feet.

If they focused their time and resources on making Rage a good game instead spending of their time optimizing it for consoles, this might have never happened

@Saga: This!

I guess they are just flushing the pople out and looking to get some people in who can actually make a good game.

Little do they know that it probably should have involved and included the people way up the chain.

@JohnPaulVann said:

Carmack should be the one getting fired for designing the horse shit technology that powers Rage. He is no longer a top talent. Fuck him and fuck id. Unless John Romero comes back I'm done with the company's games.

+1 for the return of John Romero. He might have been crazy, but he had the great ideas and inspiration that was needed to make Id's technically competent but otherwise dull designs great. As for Carmack, I can't say - RAGE looks great, but nothing about the technology - at least not as described - sounds new or revolutionary. Streaming Megatextures aren't new ideas. They fucking used that in the previous engine (both Quake Wars and Quake 4 at least), as well as a bunch of open world-y game engines, and pre-baked light/shadowmaps have been in Id's games since Quake 1...

I really enjoyed Rage, I can see PC people being upset by it because it was instead of a pc tech demo it was a console tech demo. But the tech is non the less very impressive, just look at BF3 or any of these other tech games not only do they run at 30 or less but look worse. Rage has amazing tech that probably should have been put into a better game.

I really enjoyed Rage, and it definitely has the best graphics of anything I've played on the 360. If anything, the fact they could muster a new high point in terms of graphics, on a six year old console was impressive.

I hate that the big, popular, multi-million selling games wreak havoc on other games. Call of Duty might as well have murdered Bizarre Creations, when it comes down to sales, there's no way they could have matched Call of Duty with their games. Not with the time, money and instructions they were given; namely making a cheap, licensed game quickly.

I hope that technology and the economy reach a point that makes game development cheaper and less inherently risky. I love Elder Scrolls, but hopefully not to the detriment of other games and developers. That said I couldn't care less about Call of Duty any more, the sooner they inevitably kill it the sooner we can move on.

@msavo said:

Everyday I go to my local Best Buy I see stacks of Rage. No one even bought that game during Boxing Day at my local stores except me. It's not a horrible game but for how long it took to produce I don't know what the fuck they were doing.

I don't think the number of copies of a game on store shelves is really indicative of sales.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

I feel sorry for id Software.

While I think Rage is one of the most spectacular games ever made, I feel that in many ways the game feels outdated. The saving system, the game mechanics, the mission objectives, etc. They clash with newer games that are more robust and up to date. I hope John Carmack, Tim Willits and the gang learn from their mistakes and will not eff up with the upcoming Doom 4.