Xbox was funding Romero Games' new game, but layoffs have left the project in crisis
The news was initially confirmed in a statement signed by Brenda Romero and posted on X. "Last night, we learned that our publisher has canceled funding for our game along with several other unannounced projects at other studios," it said. "This was a strategic decision made at a high level within the publisher, well above our visibility or control." It went on to say that the studio was powerless to change the outcome, and that the decision was not reflective of the quality of work its team has produced.
Ireland-based Romero Games is not owned by Microsoft, but it appears the company's financial support was crucial to keeping the studio alive — a fact that wasn't publicly known until the shutdown occurred. IGN is now reporting that the entire Romero Games workforce has been let go, and many Romero Games employees confirm on Linkedin that they no longer have jobs.
According to the company website, Romero Games was founded by John and Brenda Romero in 2014, and had more than 100 developers on its staff. Its most recent release was 2023's Sigil II, the unofficial sixth episode in the Doom series, which John Romero co-created in 1993 with id Software, the studio he also co-founded. The upcoming game was described by Romero Games as an "all-new FPS with an original, new IP working with a major publisher."
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