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ID Software's (still employed) Lead Services Programmer had some SCATHING criticisms of Xbox following the gutting of their studio.

Didn't the head of the studio say they have now the same no. of employees they had when they made Doom 2016? How is it impossible to create new DOOM games that meet the "Doom" standards?
 
geary said:
Didn't the head of the studio say they have now the same no. of employees they had when they made Doom 2016? How is it impossible to create new DOOM games that meet the "Doom" standards?
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Considering the turmoil that was the DOOM 2016 development, the number of employees line is literally meaningless. A lot of people who got their names at the credits weren't even there anymore.
 
I mean, you can't blame the studio heads for saying the stuff they've been saying. They aren't going to say OUR STUDIO IS SUFFERING.

Still such a shame. I hate that it happened to them. Really disappointed by both Microsoft and Sony. What a year, lol.
 
Ms and their shills have put in alot of effort to damage control the recent layoffs.

They are probably already preparing their scripts for the next round of layoffs.
 
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Idk the gamepass cannibalism arguments fall flat to me when we see games like Expedition 33, Palworld or oblivion remastered pop off like crazy in spite of being on gamepass.

Like I'm sure it has an impact, but I know there's lots of people out there who are ride or die steam, and they didn't pick up this last doom game.

Maybe make better games that are more appealing to audiences.
 
+Xbox doesn't understand art, or games or the business model.
+Nor does Xbox understand what goes into making a game

Im Dead Think Fast GIF
.
 
Full text:
(Good to see a high level employee come out and directly say the bolded)

ID Software's (still employed) Lead Services Programmer had some SCATHING criticisms of #Xbox following the gutting of their studio. He says:

+Impossible to make a AAA game of previous Doom standards with current employees.
+Entire important departments and disciplines at studio gone.
+Reassurances they're the same are a lie; they're half.
+Studio management given talking points on what can/can't be said.
+Reassurances are so more people don't jump ship fearing no future.
+They're not the same size as when they shipped Doom 2016, they're fewer, despite higher game production demands.
+ID Software has serious issues with how Game Pass has done.
+Poor sales is an unfair metric due to Game Pass sales cannibalisation. Game Pass means it's not the same game sales business model.
+Xbox doesn't understand art, or games or the business model.
+Nor does Xbox understand what goes into making a game.

Besides Xbox still being a disaster, the way they're moving lately has me fearing much of this is prepping more to ready studios to be divested or sold off, thus fat free and lower cost till a sale is on the cards, than it is Xbox seriously being interested in a studio like ID Software making more premium quality AAA games. We shall see.... But what a travesty either way.

Link to full Auf Ein Podcast.
youtu.be/aA64Ogzm_VU?is…
Click to expand...
 
maybe, just maybe, id Software can scope a game that fits within their needs wheel house and deliver on gameplay. They could most likely reuse existing assets and make a Quake 1 style game. They have so many assets to choose from, there's no need to reinvent the wheel every time. Just focus on player and enemy models / animations.

Hire me as director and I'll get a fucking game out the door in a year and a half.
 
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UniformDeliverance said:
Idk the gamepass cannibalism arguments fall flat to me when we see games like Expedition 33, Palworld or oblivion remastered pop off like crazy in spite of being on gamepass.

Like I'm sure it has an impact, but I know there's lots of people out there who are ride or die steam, and they didn't pick up this last doom game.

Maybe make better games that are more appealing to audiences.
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You're comparing apples and oranges here

Expedition 33 was made with a small budget of less than $10M by an independant studio with few people and tons of outsourcing. You cant compare it to a big, traditional company like id. Same for Palworld.

Oblivion was a remaster, made with a small budget and people were thristy for an Elder's Scroll game.

Can id change their scope and start making smaller games with a smaller team? Sure. But that wasnt Microsoft's strategy before the studio crashed and burned.

If putting AAA games into Game Pass day one made sense, Sony and Nintendo would be doing the same, but they preffer selling games.
 
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UniformDeliverance said:
Like I'm sure it has an impact, but I know there's lots of people out there who are ride or die steam, and they didn't pick up this last doom game.

Maybe make better games that are more appealing to audiences.
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That's not the point. Let's say The Dark Ages was not an appealing product, fair enough. You still can't deny the competence and talent behind it. If one very competent but unappealing release is enough to sink a studio of Id's caliber, than practically no one besides CoD is safe. Is that the kind of publisher you want in this business? Let alone platform holder.
 
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He doesn't know that his new job is reviewing UE5 code from India. Poor guy. Remaining at his job while being that cranky isn't a good look. Just move on pal. What is it with game devs and being terrified of changing jobs? Does not endear sympathy.
 
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My response to after they practically gutted their entire core engineering team is "no shit". If Asha/MS thinks they can waltz through this and uphold quality solely through dependence on AI and outsourcing, then they're legitimately out of their minds. It would genuinely be a deluded idea.

It honestly makes me wonder, if they're setting up ID for fail to close them. Their current/next project will struggle to match what they've made prior.
 
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I've always had the impression ID was pissed that XBOX bought Bethesda. They had some of their tech folks talking about how the XSX design had issues and how the Series S also causes major problems even after the XBOX purchase.
 
Topher said:
www.gamesindustry.biz

Microsoft confirms Game Pass cannibalizes sales

The UK Competition and Markets Authority's provisional report on the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition includes…
www.gamesindustry.biz www.gamesindustry.biz
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Of course....on XBOX. And those cannibalized sales are accounted for, from the Gamepass revenues. Doom TDA was Day 1 multiplatform.

Let's say it was projected to sell 3 million on Xbox, 4 million on PC/Steam, 3 million on PlayStation, for 10 millon total, which is very generous for a Doom game. If all XBOX sales got cannibalized, and quarter of Steam sales got cannibalized by PC Gamepass, what happened to the rest of sales on PS and Steam?

Keep in mind, MS has total player data vs sales.
 
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Tobimacoss said:
Of course....on XBOX. And those cannibalized sales are accounted for, from the Gamepass revenues. Doom TDA was Day 1 multiplatform.

Let's say it was projected to sell 3 million on Xbox, 4 million on PC/Steam, 3 million on PlayStation, for 10 millon total, which is very generous for a Doom game. If all XBOX sales got cannibalized, and quarter of Steam sales got cannibalized by PC Gamepass, what happened to the rest of sales on PS and Steam?

Keep in mind, MS has total player data vs sales.
Click to expand...
While you have a point, there's quite a bit of crossover here where people with a PlayStation and also a PC or XBOX would just choose not to buy the game and rent it on GP.

GamePass hurts sales on every platform, including PlayStation.
 
Bold strategy. I think he wants to be fired lol.

So then don't make a new Doom game that requires a double sized staff. What can you make with this many people that is something folks would want to play and that you guys want to make?

Maybe a Doom 2016 remaster or remake, or make original doom 1 in an updated engine with voxels, or a new Quake game.

Get creative bitch.
 
IntentionalPun said:
While you have a point, there's quite a bit of crossover here where people with a PlayStation and also a PC or XBOX would just choose not to buy the game and rent it on GP.

GamePass hurts sales on every platform, including PlayStation.
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People who have multiple consoles, and choose to play on Xbox Consoles via Gamepass. That would count as an XBOX sale to begin with. And there's not that many overall. Regardless Doom TDA did well below Eternal numbers on PS for whichever reason.

If every1 chose to play a multiplatform game on Gamepass, MS would call that a success..... Doom TDA simply didn't perform on platforms without Gamepass.
 
That's a longwinded way of wanting to get fired with a package.

Believe it or not NIB, you can actually go your boss and ask for a package to leave on your terms without officially getting fired or laid off. Think of it like voluntary retirement but initiated from the employee first. Given what's happening at MS, they'd probably agree to it.
 
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Tobimacoss said:
Of course....on XBOX. And those cannibalized sales are accounted for, from the Gamepass revenues. Doom TDA was Day 1 multiplatform.

Let's say it was projected to sell 3 million on Xbox, 4 million on PC/Steam, 3 million on PlayStation, for 10 millon total, which is very generous for a Doom game. If all XBOX sales got cannibalized, and quarter of Steam sales got cannibalized by PC Gamepass, what happened to the rest of sales on PS and Steam?

Keep in mind, MS has total player data vs sales.
Click to expand...
Doom has a niche traditional market. If I am not wrong, it is also mostly on pc. Doom the dark ages had bigger player count than soon eternal( the best selling game in the trilogy) but low sales. A lot of its traditional players seem to have gotten the game via gamepass. Also, if I remember correctly, dark ages was a 80$ game which most probably also hurt its sales.
 
MS has only entered the gaming market to destroy any value it had.
I said this before, they have been applying the Amazon strategy since the beginning, even in the 360 era.
Submerge your competitors with cash, buy everything (studios) so your competitors can't follow even at the cost of being largely unprofitable, then destroy everything from inside, resell and now your competitors are forced out of the market.
Of course, MS being MS, knowing nothing about developing games, they completely missed their objective because they're turds.

You just see all happening right now.
Remember when they also wanted to buy Nintendo ? Imagine that… just to force Sony out of the market and finally absorb them.

Then they have monopoly, and can apply whatever bullshit they want to force on us. Just look at this shit show of windows (at least it still is an open platform…).
 
I really hate that I can't do anything on X without the app and an account.

1. No I don't want to be tracked
2. Yes I do want to watch the video and see what he says
3. Yes I want to read the post
4. No I don't want to open an account either
 
geary said:
Didn't the head of the studio say they have now the same no. of employees they had when they made Doom 2016? How is it impossible to create new DOOM games that meet the "Doom" standards?
Click to expand...
Easily disproven by comparing current employed staff with Doom 2016 Staff Credits.
 
I assume the answer is that Xbox higher ups assume you can make a game with much fewer people if you're using AI constantly. Oh, and outscourcing too.
 
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