id Software and MachineGames Deepen Technology Collaboration

id Software and MachineGames are coordinating more closely on technology development, a shift that could support projects across both studios. The collaboration began earlier this year, before layoffs cut roughly half of id Software’s staff. That timing matters: the shared work wasn’t described as a response to the cuts, even though it now sits alongside a major change in the size of id’s team. The immediate question is what closer coordination means in practice, since the studios haven’t tied the effort to any announced game.

id Software’s post-layoff outlook

Studio co-director Marty Stratton discussed the change at a press event for DOOM: The Dark Ages – Revelations, according to IGN. Asked how id Software was faring after the cuts, he said, “We’re doing great.” He acknowledged that about half the studio had left, adding that the company had worked to keep its game development and technology teams viable. That answer offers a limited but useful picture: Stratton says the studio has retained the functions it considers necessary to keep making games and developing technology. It doesn’t, by itself, tell us how workloads, schedules, or the studio’s future plans have changed.

Layoffs can leave a studio with fewer people carrying institutional knowledge, even when key teams remain in place. Technology work can be especially dependent on that knowledge: tools and systems built for one project may shape how later projects are developed, and decisions made by one group can affect another group’s production process. That’s general context, not a claim about id’s specific staffing or tools. Stratton’s comments suggest the studio has tried to preserve its ability to do both game development and technology work, but they don’t reveal how that balance will hold up over time.

There’s a difference between keeping teams viable and confirming that a studio’s capacity is unchanged. The first is what Stratton described; the second hasn’t been established here. This is more significant than it looks: the studio’s statement is reassuring in tone, yet the acknowledged departure of about half its staff remains a substantial change to the organization.

Stratton said the studios have long worked together, but their engineers are now sharing more of the technology work. “We’re both really, really bullish on what we have ahead,” he said. He described the effort as a path already underway before the layoffs, with work kicking off earlier this year. The distinction matters. A partnership that predates the cuts may reflect a longer-term approach to development, while the cuts form a separate part of the current context. The comments don’t establish that one caused the other.

In game development, technology collaboration can mean several things, from sharing expertise to coordinating the tools or systems used during production. Those arrangements can help teams avoid duplicating work, but they also require clear ownership and communication. The details matter: Stratton’s description confirms closer engineering collaboration, but doesn’t specify which technologies are shared, how the work is divided, or whether either studio will change its production structure.

What the collaboration could mean

One possible beneficiary is the rumored Wolfenstein 3. Casting calls reportedly surfaced last February, and Windows Central later backed reports that the game is in development. An alleged live-action series from Amazon, with the producers of Fallout attached, is also in the works. Neither project has a premiere date; an announcement in the coming year wouldn’t be surprising. Those reports provide a reason to watch for activity around the franchise, but they don’t confirm that the technology partnership is serving the game or the series.

That separation is important. The studios’ closer engineering work may support projects across both teams, as the initial description suggests, but there’s no named project attached to it. A shared technology effort can be useful without being built for one specific release; it can also be difficult to assess from outside when the studios haven’t explained its scope. For now, connecting the collaboration to Wolfenstein 3 would be speculation.

(And this is the part most people overlook.) A studio partnership can matter even when it doesn’t produce an immediate announcement. If teams can carry useful technology work between projects, that may affect how they build future games; if the work is narrowly scoped, its effect may be harder to see. The available comments don’t tell us which outcome to expect.

A further question is whether id Software could contribute to another Indiana Jones game. More titles were rumored after the success of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but reports first surfaced in December 2024 and have gone quiet since. The possibility is worth tracking, though the current information doesn’t connect id’s engineers to that franchise. Quiet reporting also leaves little basis for conclusions about whether those plans have advanced, stalled, or changed.

What to watch next

If you’re working in this space, the clearest signal to watch for is a concrete description of what the engineers are building together. A named project, a clearer explanation of shared tools, or comments about how the studios divide the work would make the partnership easier to judge. Until then, the public account establishes increased coordination, not a new game announcement or a change to any project’s schedule.

And yet, the arrangement could still prove consequential. Technology is part of how studios make games, and shared work may influence more than one production even when it stays out of marketing. That possibility shouldn’t be confused with evidence that a particular title will arrive sooner or that the collaboration will offset the loss of staff. Those questions remain open.

For now, Stratton’s comments point to a technology partnership spanning two experienced teams, while the specific projects remain unconfirmed. The studio says it has kept its game development and technology teams viable after a major reduction in staff, and says the closer engineering effort began before that reduction. A useful sign of progress would be more detail about what the partnership covers. Until then, the outlook is encouraging in tone, but difficult to measure. Read our review of DOOM: The Dark Ages – Revelations for the latest on id Software’s current release.