Doom And Quake Veteran’s New FPS Loses Funding, With Microsoft Seemingly To Blame

The development studio led by John and Brenda Romero, known as Romero Games, has revealed that a yet-unnamed publisher has withdrawn financial support for their upcoming title, and there are rumors suggesting this might be Microsoft.

In her latest post, Brenda Romero announced that the publisher has terminated financing for our game, as well as numerous other unpublicized projects from various other studios. She explained that this move was a strategic one, initiated at a top-tier level within the publishing company, beyond our awareness or ability to influence.

Based on the language used and the timing of events, it seems likely that Microsoft is the publisher for this recently announced game. This assumption arises because Microsoft has recently announced the cancellation of several unannounced games, and Romero Games, when they first announced their new FPS, mentioned working with a “major” publisher. A staff member from Romero Games also stated on social media that they lost their position at the company due to recent layoffs at Xbox.

As a gamer speaking about Romero Games, I’d say, “I truly wished there was something, anything we could have done to change the outcome. We always met deadlines, consistently aced every milestone, earned rave reviews, and sailed through all our internal checks.

“We are incredibly proud of the work being done, and of the talented team behind it,” she said.

Romero indicated that they are currently considering their options and moving swiftly to assist their team. As reported by an impacted employee, it appears that the entire studio is facing layoffs.

Last year, John Romero unveiled a fresh Doom II stage, with the earnings donated to aid the Ukrainian population.

If the rumors are true that Romero Games’ fresh FPS has been axed by Microsoft, it would follow in the footsteps of Everwild and Perfect Dark, both of which were also shelved due to recent changes at Microsoft. Additionally, reports indicate that a new MMORPG from ZeniMax Online Studios was also scrapped by Microsoft. Beyond game cancellations, Microsoft recently shut down The Initiative, the studio responsible for Perfect Dark, and let go of many employees across its various divisions.

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2025-07-03 16:39