John Carmack responds to Microsoft laying off id Software staff ⁠61%

By Alexander Cope⁠77%

7/11/2026, 12:35:54 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 25 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Hindsight Bias, and Halo Effect, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 32% saturation with 233 hits. Analysis detected 1,363 faulty-reasoning hits from 728 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 56.6% and a BS Rank of ⁠61% (8,627 of 21,886 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 60.60% of the article peer group.

id Software , the studio responsible for many beloved Xbox franchises like DOOM , Wolfenstein , Quake, and more, has seen a huge chunk of its staff laid off by Microsoft as part of the company's restructuring of the Xbox brand, resulting in over 3,200 people losing their jobs . 
In the wake of this announcement, John Carmack, one of the founders of id Software (along with John Romero, Tom Hall, and Adrian Carmack), who also helped create the DOOM, Wolfenstein, and Quake franchises, has responded to it on social media with his thoughts on the situation. 
I have been trying to find something meaningful to say about the Id Software layoffs.My “Microsoft will probably be a good steward of the brand” statement isn’t aging well, and this is certainly going to dampen the mood of the founder reunion at QuakeCon next month.I’m… July 9, 2026 
Most responses to Xbox's mass layoffs, which were filled with anger and frustration, like former id Software animator Skai Chow's scathing message of "I hope our pain was worth it" or fear of the future, like Bethesda fearing that it will negatively impact the development of The Elder Scrolls 6 , or even spell the end for Fallout 76 without help from an external studio . 
However, John Carmack's response feels more neutral by comparison. 
While he was definitely sad (while admitting that his comment on Microsoft being a good steward of the brand isn't aging well), he couldn't bring himself to be angry or disappointed by these layoffs by saying, "I’m saddened, but I can’t muster anger or outrage over it. 
I don’t have access to the books, but I suspect that Id Software was a marginal business from Microsoft’s perspective. 
I believe the reports that Minecraft revenues have been carrying several other studios." 
John Carmack then stated that at the end of the day, the gaming industry is a brutal business with tons of competitors vying for your time and money, and if you're not successful financially, you'll get left behind regardless of how beloved your creation is. 
John Carmack was one of the lead programmers behind the original DOOM from 1993. 
(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks) In addition, while it's easy to point the blame at Microsoft's higher-ups, John Carmack says that "You can’t rule out the possibility that executives are idiots, but that shouldn’t be your default belief. 
I don’t think there is any obvious path that would have doubled the revenue from Id games." 
He asks what kinds of strategies id Software could've done to prevent this, like using a different pricing strategy, creating more things for fans to buy, or using a cost-effective marketing scheme to reach out to more players. 
He ultimately has no answer for this conundrum, but John Carmack does know that it's not over yet, and he hopes that id Software bounces back from this grievous blow. 
Windows Central's take 
While I personally don't know the answer to this question myself, I do know that my colleague, Jez Corden, says that rumors of id Software's demise are greatly exaggerated . 
While the job cuts have been brutal to the point where they put the kibosh on Id Software's pitches for a Perfect Dark reboot and a John Wick-style game , Microsoft has not announced any plans of closing id Software down any time soon. 
In fact, Microsoft has even released a statement to us regarding the rumors of the job cuts putting id Software's lauded id Tech (an engine that has greatly optimized the performance of games like the modern DOOM games and Indiana Jones & The Great Circle ) on ice, which says, "There are dozens of people working on id Tech across multiple locations. 
Reports that there’s only one person left in Texas are inaccurate." 
Either way, I hope id Software does survive this tumultuous time in gaming. 
They produced some of the most awesome first-person shooters I've ever played, like DOOM (2016) and DOOM: Eternal, and it would be an utter travesty for the studio to close for good. 
Stay tuned for more news as we keep an eye out for further developments regarding the damages caused by Xbox 's company-wide "Reset". 
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 7.4%Alexander Cope: 4.0%Windows Central: 4.2%Confirmation Bias7.4%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 1.3%Windows Central: 1.0%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 9.1%Alexander Cope: 6.8%Windows Central: 4.6%Availability Heuristic9.1%This article: 6.2%Alexander Cope: 1.3%Windows Central: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic6.2%This article: 13.2%Alexander Cope: 1.8%Windows Central: 0.8%Hindsight Bias13.2%This article: 2.7%Alexander Cope: 3.5%Windows Central: 2.9%Overconfidence Bias2.7%This article: 1.2%Alexander Cope: 4.9%Windows Central: 5.0%Framing Effect1.2%This article: 6.0%Alexander Cope: 1.7%Windows Central: 1.3%Loss Aversion6.0%This article: 6.0%Alexander Cope: 0.7%Windows Central: 0.9%Status Quo Bias6.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.3%Windows Central: 0.3%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 5.9%Alexander Cope: 12.2%Windows Central: 8.0%Optimism Bias5.9%This article: 8.5%Alexander Cope: 4.0%Windows Central: 3.0%Pessimism Bias8.5%This article: 32.0%Alexander Cope: 12.9%Windows Central: 8.6%Negativity Bias32.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 2.9%Windows Central: 1.4%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 5.1%Alexander Cope: 1.6%Windows Central: 0.9%Fundamental Attribution Error5.1%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.6%Windows Central: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.6%Windows Central: 1.2%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.1%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 12.9%Alexander Cope: 6.6%Windows Central: 4.1%Halo Effect12.9%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.1%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 2.4%Windows Central: 2.2%Recency Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.5%Windows Central: 0.5%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.4%Windows Central: 0.2%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.2%Windows Central: 0.3%Straw Man0.0%This article: 14.6%Alexander Cope: 5.6%Windows Central: 3.7%Appeal to Authority14.6%This article: 6.2%Alexander Cope: 2.1%Windows Central: 1.7%False Dilemma6.2%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 1.6%Windows Central: 1.0%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.2%Windows Central: 0.1%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 9.1%Alexander Cope: 11.5%Windows Central: 8.5%Hasty Generalization9.1%This article: 5.2%Alexander Cope: 0.5%Windows Central: 0.2%Red Herring5.2%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 2.3%Windows Central: 1.1%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 4.4%Alexander Cope: 7.1%Windows Central: 3.8%Appeal to Emotion4.4%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 1.6%Windows Central: 0.9%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 3.0%Windows Central: 2.9%Post Hoc (False Cause)0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 2.7%Alexander Cope: 1.3%Windows Central: 0.5%Burden of Proof2.7%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.2%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 5.9%Alexander Cope: 5.4%Windows Central: 4.0%Anecdotal5.9%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.2%Windows Central: 0.2%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 2.3%Alexander Cope: 2.8%Windows Central: 2.4%Ambiguity (Equivocation)2.3%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 1.2%Alexander Cope: 0.4%Windows Central: 0.2%Middle Ground1.2%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.2%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.3%Windows Central: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.2%Windows Central: 0.1%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 2.7%Windows Central: 3.0%Unattributed Quote0.0%This article: 6.7%Alexander Cope: 1.9%Windows Central: 1.1%Quote-first Misdirection6.7%This article: 6.9%Alexander Cope: 19.0%Windows Central: 13.9%Biased Writer Voice6.9%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 4.5%Windows Central: 1.9%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.1%Windows Central: 0.0%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Alexander Cope: 0.0%Windows Central: 0.0%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 5.6%Alexander Cope: 15.3%Windows Central: 6.7%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…5.6%

728 words analyzed.

Speakers

2speakers41%attributed speech427writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 50 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 47 words • 0.0% coverageJohn Carmack • 49 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 66 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coverageJohn Carmack • 47 words • 0.0% coverageJohn Carmack • 20 words • 0.0% coverageJohn Carmack • 13 words • 0.0% coverageJohn Carmack • 45 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageJohn Carmack • 37 words • 0.0% coverageJohn Carmack • 17 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 38 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 30 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 3 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 30 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 44 words • 0.0% coverageMicrosoft • 62 words • 0.0% coverageMicrosoft • 11 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 32 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 100.0% coverage
Selected voice

John Carmack

100%flagged-word coverage
228 attributed words76% of attributed speech86% writer coverage
0%12.5%25.0%Quote-first Misdirection+21.5 ptsWriter: 0.0%John Carmack: 21.5%21.5%Biased Writer Voice-11.7 ptsWriter: 11.7%John Carmack: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -9.6 ptsWriter: 9.6%John Carmack: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.