The new wave of layoffs in Microsoft's gaming division continues to affect internal Xbox studios. One of the most affected teams, according to sources, was id Software, where 136 employees were laid off, including almost the entire team responsible for developing the proprietary id Tech game engine.
According to Kotaku, citing its own sources, key specialists and entire departments were affected by the cuts. According to the publication's interlocutors, presumably only one employee remained in the team responsible for the development of id Tech.
According to them, such large-scale layoffs cast doubt on the further existence of the technology. Even if the engine continues to be used, it will be extremely difficult for one developer to maintain and develop it without specialists who possess years of accumulated knowledge.
The institutional knowledge is gone. id Tech as a technology is probably dead forever.
id Tech was used to create games such as DOOM Eternal, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The engine gained widespread recognition for its high performance, excellent optimization, and modern rendering technologies, including ray tracing and path tracing.