Doom Creator’s New Project Canceled
Romero Games, founded by John Romero, the legendary name behind the Doom series, had to cancel plans for a new shooter game based on Unreal Engine 5. Microsoft’s recent mass layoffs and studio closures have directly affected not only this project, but also the future of Romero Games. The project, which Doom fans have been eagerly waiting for, has not yet been officially announced, but the studio’s statement confirmed that it has been canceled.
Doom Creator’s New Project Fails to Receive Support from Microsoft
Romero Games announced on social media that funding had been stopped by the game’s publisher and that this decision was beyond the studio’s control. CEO Brenda Romero said in her statement, “The decision has nothing to do with the quality of our team. We completed all of our goals on time and received high marks in internal evaluations.” It was stated that the game is a completely original shooter game developed with Unreal Engine 5.
Although the publisher was not named, a statement by Christoph Redl, an artist working at the studio, revealed the Microsoft connection. Redl shared on social media that he was dismissed due to Xbox layoffs. Thus, it became clear that Microsoft was the publisher for Romero Games’ new project. John Romero also shared the same statement on his own account, supporting his team.
The studio’s statement included positive statements about the performance of the team working on the project. The team was thanked with the words “We were the best team we’ve ever worked with.” It was also emphasized that all internal criteria were successfully met throughout the game’s development process and that there were no technical problems.
Microsoft’s recent mass layoffs affected not only Romero Games, but also many studios such as Zenimax, King, Turn 10 and Raven Software. Rare’s Everwild project, The Initiative’s Perfect Dark remake and Zenimax’s unannounced MMORPG were also among the canceled projects. Zenimax Online Studios president Matt Firor is leaving his position, while veteran Rare developer Gregg Mayles will reportedly be leaving the company as well.
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