> I've seen comments like "the MS layoffs weren't so bad".

> re: id software.

> Reports are that 50% (95ish of 200) of the studio was laid off. Here are some quotes on other details:

> “Tools, programming (except a couple), Quake Champions team, testing team. All gone.”

> “Yeah seems like all they left was leadership and art/design. I think Xbox forgot quakecon is next month.”

> It really does sound as if id is now a support team for Bethesda/others. Rip idTech, which was amazing. Maybe Machine Games will carry it on or maybe it will be dropped for future games?

> But the read is that id is essentially dead. At least for the time being. Yes, the studio wasn't closed and half still have their jobs. That's great.

> re: the studios set free by MS to be sold or mgmt returned. One view is this is great. For MS they get decent PR for being "good guys". But the truth is that in at least one case (and maybe others), retaining the IP in such a case was written into the original contract when MS purchased them. Second, these studios now are out of the MS lifeboat, on their own, and will have short time to find new deals or funding and they will make it or not. Never mind they sold to MS originally to avoid this grind and be 'safe'. Yes they have a second chance but more layoffs may simply be deferred and outside the current umbrella of today's layoff round, so MS doesn't really get the bad PR of simply shutting studios down. This means continual worry by the employees and stress for mgmt.

> re: Arkane. Same as the above but timing and process is different due to French labor laws, etc.

> The layoffs are still happening. A substantial portion of Obsidian was let go today (near 1/3). Worries that they now don't have the staff to complete current projects. Deep layoffs at Zenimax Online. Even Bethesda or Activision studios were hit (with a minor round and numbers that are small enough that it reads more like "everyone has to take a hit, even the star studios"). More details will emerge, but it's a lot of people.

> So it's bad. Real bad. Good luck to all affected.

> This post was about the insider news I got this morning that a majority of Id's studio is being laid off, including most (if not all) coders.