Romero Games have announced in the wake of mass layoffs at Microsoft that funding for their next shooter has been pulled by its publisher. A number of former staff at the studio founded by Doom co-creator John Romero and Brenda Romero have since written on social media that they’ve lost their jobs as part of those MS cuts.
A statement posted to Romero Games’ Twitter account attributed to Brenda Romero asserts that the game’s publisher, which it didn’t name, had opted to pull the funding for it “along with several other unannounced projects at other studios”.
“This was a strategic decision made at a high level within the publisher, well above our visibility or control,” Romero continued. “We deeply wish there had been something, anything, we could have done to prevent this outcome. This absolutely isn’t a reflection of our team’s work, performance, or the quality of the project itself. We hit every milestone on time, every time, consistently received high praise, and easily passed all our internal gates. We are incredibly proud of the work being done, and of the talented team behind it. The best we’ve worked with.”
Following the statement being put out, a number of now-former Romero Games devs have posted on social media that they’ve lost their jobs as part of the recent mass layoffs at Microsoft and Xbox. These include hard surface artist Christoph Redl, senior 3D character artist Conor Jordan, and senior producer Emily Winters.
“The mass Microsoft layoff effectively cancelled funding for Romero Games and as a result the whole team was laid off,” wrote former Romero Games UI artist Ana Mitrovic. Meanwhile fellow former artists Sadbh Flanagan and Eric Wong both referenced the studio closing in their posts.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment.
“We appreciate any attention you can bring to our talented team who are now looking for work,” Romero Games community developer and communications manager Maezza Romero wrote in response to a request for comment RPS made to the studio. “I have to refer you back to our public post, which is in keeping with our confidentiality agreement.”
The original statement closes by saying that Romero Games are “currently evaluating next steps and working quickly to support our team. Many of us have worked together for more than a decade, some for more than 20 years,” it goes on. “It’s an extremely difficult day, and we’re heartbroken it’s come to this.”
“These people are the best people I’ve ever worked with,” John Romero added on social media, “and I’m sorry to say that our game and our studio were also affected.”
