Almost Killed by Xbox Layoffs, John Romero’s Next Game Has ‘Survived’

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Well-known game designer John Romero has announced that his upcoming game, which was almost cancelled, will continue development. Microsoft had previously stopped funding the project when they made recent staff cuts.

During a panel at a video game expo in Madrid, John Romero announced (as reported by Eurogamer) that his new game has been rescued, though it will be significantly different than originally planned. The project has been scaled down considerably and will now be a shooter.

Honestly, the game looks totally different from what it was when Microsoft was in charge. But the good news is, with over 110 people on the team, we’re not rebuilding everything from scratch. We’re actually using a lot of the cool stuff we already had, just reimagined!

Romero shared that his team found inspiration in games like Elden Ring, which delivered a truly unique experience. He emphasized that the game he’s currently developing, while a shooter, will offer players something completely fresh and unlike anything they’ve played before, similar to the feeling of discovering Elden Ring for the first time.

Microsoft’s layoffs earlier this year led to the cancellation of several games, including Perfect Dark, Everwild, and a previously unannounced online multiplayer game. The studio behind Perfect Dark, called The Initiative, was also closed. However, two of the game’s directors have now joined 2K to lead a new development team.

Romero Games was surprised when Microsoft unexpectedly cancelled funding for their project. According to one source, Microsoft and Romero Games had a meeting just a day before the announcement, and there was no indication of any problems. The source said they believed the game was already quite far along in development.

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2025-12-10 16:36