DOOM co founder John Romero has secured a new publisher for his unannounced first person shooter following a sudden funding cancellation by Xbox. The deal allows Romero Games to restart production with a streamlined crew of 15 developers after budget cuts reduced the studio from 110 employees down to 5. The publisher name remains undisclosed, and the team is building the game with a smaller scope and complete creative independence.
Xbox abruptly pulled financial backing earlier in the year, forcing Romero Games to freeze the project and dismiss most of the staff. The payroll dropped from 110 people to 5 during the worst point of the crisis. Romero confirmed that rebuilding the original concept is impossible with the current resources. The team is starting development from scratch, but the studio retains full ownership of all art, code, and intellectual property created during the earlier production cycle.
The revised shooter will operate on a much smaller scale than the initial design. Romero stated that working in a compact team lets the studio focus on direct game creation instead of middle management and daily video calls. The new financial backer provided funding without attaching creative restrictions, leaving design decisions entirely to the development team. Official game reveals and launch windows will follow at a later stage.
