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  • 4 hours ago
Id Software's Andrew Willis shares his perspective on the recent wave of industry layoffs, including those impacting Xbox. He posits that large publishers have proven to be 'terrible stewards' and that the only sustainable solution is for developers to own and operate their own studios.
Transcript
00:00id software producer andrew willis can only see one way through xbox's reset strategy
00:07studios owned by workers rather than corporations the comments were made after microsoft slashed
00:13over 3 000 jobs across xbox including at id software the legendary creators of doom and quake
00:20willis mourned the cuts in a linkedin post earlier this week calling the layoffs an
00:24incomprehensible decision and remarking that the game industry is being run by people who
00:29do not fundamentally understand anything about it not even how it generates value or profit
00:35willis who helped lead id software's unionization efforts in 2025 suggests the only way to fix the
00:41video game industry at this point is for developer owned studios to start rising from these studio
00:47closures and layoffs he adds we've got to learn from the past be fiscally responsible and create
00:53an effort of sustainable growth though growth should be a byproduct of success not a goal in and of
00:59itself it's the only path forward i can see he reiterates these large publishers and monopolies
01:05have proven themselves terrible stewards and somehow even worse financial managers to his point although
01:11microsoft gaming had already eliminated 2500 jobs in 2024 and microsoft killed about 15 000 more jobs in
01:192025 xbox began 2026 with its overall revenue nine percent down in a hole what are your thoughts on
01:28what are your thoughts on xbox's reset strategy
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