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id Software programmer: Microsoft's mass layoffs are eroding studio quality

Chris Hayes, id Software's lead services programmer and a Microsoft employee, criticized Microsoft's repeated mass layoffs in a recent YouTube interview, arguing they strip studios of the experience and motivation needed to make high-quality games. Hayes warned that cutting experienced teams and prioritizing short-term cost savings produces mediocre titles, damages long-term value in major IPs and prevents learning from failure.

• Chris Hayes made the remarks in an interview on the YouTube channel Auf ein Bier at the end of last month.
• Hayes says studio quality comes from sustained shared experience and the ability to learn from failures, which layoffs interrupt.
• He argued that repeatedly cutting staff and replacing them later results in mediocre games and harms the long-term capability of publishers to produce valuable IP.
• Hayes noted he remains a Microsoft employee and contrasted current layoffs with earlier acquisitions (id by ZeniMax, then ZeniMax by Microsoft), which previously allowed studios room to fail and learn.